THE 


(qONSOLATIONS 


^.1EN€E 


University  of  California 


FROM  THE    LIBRARY  OF 

Dr.  JOSEPH   LeCONTE 

GIFT  OF  MRS.   LECONTE. 

No. 


""'mi^.:. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/consolationsofscOOstrarich 


THE. 


L) 


OF  aiEM 


OR- 


Contriktions  of  Science  to  the  Hope  of  Immortality 
and  Kindred  Tliemes. 


BY 


JACOB    STRAUB,   A.   M. 

AuTHOB  OP  ••  Prophecy  and  Pbophets,"  etc.,  etc. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

HIRAM  W.  THOMAS,  D.  D. 

PASTOB  OP  THE  PKOPIiE'S  CHUBCH,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


It  ia  It  myself. — Jesus. 


FOURTH    ElIDITIOISr. 


CHICAGO : 
S.  W.  STRAUB  &  CO. 

i8SS. 


COPYRIGHT,  ie»o, 
SY  JACOB  STRAUB. 

AXJi  BiaaTS  BBSEBVED. 


Obo.  Dahisls,  Printer, 
79  &  81  Randolph  St.,  Chioaffo. 


DEDICATION. 


TO  THE  DYING  AND  THE  BEREAVED;  TO  THE  MINISTERS  OP  CONSO 

LATION;    AND    TO  A  SAINTLY  MOTHER   WHO  WAS  DEEPLY 

INTERESTED   IN  THESE  PAGES,   BUT   COULD   NOT 

TAEEY  FOR  THEIR  COMPLETION,  THIS  WORK 

IS  DEDICATED  BY 

THE   AUTHOR 


PREFACE. 


A  WORD  with  the  reader  is  asked  before  he  enters  on 
the  perusal  of  the  following  pages.  While  I  have 
no  apologies  to  offer  for  imperfections  that  may  be  found 
in  the  work,  I  am  desirous  that  the  benefits  intended  in 
my  labors  shall  be  realized.  None  will  dispute  that  the 
subject  treated  is  of  the  very  greatest  magnitude  and 
interest, — the  most  difficult  to  properly  treat,  and  one 
in  respect  to  which  there  is  the  most  intense  soHcitude, 

My  calling  in  life  has  supplied  me  a  many-years'  in- 
timacy with  the  newly  bereaved  and  the  dying  not  alone, 
but  with  the  thoughtful  people  not  intimately  in  the 
presence  of  death.  And  it  was  from  the  voices  of 
minds  in  those  conditions  that  I  was  prompted  to  set 
about  these  labors. 

It  was  also  seen  that  many  times  where  there  ex- 
ists the  most  serene  confidence  that  all  is  well,  there 
remain  yearnings  for  still  more  definite  light, — particu- 
larly from  the  facts  of  nature — from  the  established 
truths  of  science.  In  the  present  time,  when  the  more 
capable  minds  are  so  strongly  impressed  with  the  results 
of  science,  and  the  necessity  that  every  theory  should 
be  solvable  by  the  facts  of  nature,  while  still  choosing  to 
believe,  entire  contentment  in  the  claim  of  a  future  life 

would,  generally,  require  that  some  form  of  proof  from 

5 


6  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

nature  should  sustain  it.  It  is  also  to  be  seen  that  the 
believer,  as  well  as  the  unbeliever,  is  represented  in  the 
demand  for  light  from  this  source. 

Such  a  disposition  is,  however,  not  to  be  rated  as 
really  unbelieving.  Nor,  in  the  full  light  of  the  f  aqts,  is  it  to 
be  deplored.  It  is  characterized  by  a  happy  indication. 
It  indicates  an  expectance,  if  not  of  a  stronger  abstract 
belief,  still  of  a  stronger  assurance,  by  foreseeing  the 
added  means  of  belief  from  nature's  own  evidence.  The 
power  of  abstract  belief  is  in  many  ways  of  great  value, 
when  not  abused ;  and  should  be  well  cultivated.  But 
in  its  import  of  good  to  man,  it  is  not  the  equal  of  this 
much  needed  assurance  of  life's  continuance  in  another 
and  superior  world. 

Besides,  this,  also,  has  been  a  motive  to  the  undertak- 
ing of  the  work :  that,  if  successful,  it  would  not  only 
effect  great  relief  and  happiness  to  many,  but  would  add 
new  stimuli  to  moral  and  spiritual  enterprises  generally. 

In  setting  about  the  work,  it  was  foreseen,  at  once, 
that,  to  meet  the  ends  in  view,  there  were  certain  diffi- 
culties to  be  encountered ;  provided  it  should  be  treated 
affirmatively  and  aggressively ^  as  the  facts  were  warrant- 
ing and  as  it  required  to  be  done.  First,  the  facts  to  be 
employed  were  mainly  in  the  biological  and  psychological 
field.  And  though  they  were  familiar  to  readers  of  that 
class  of  literature,  it  was  literature  little  familiar  to  the 
average  reader;  while  to  a  very  large  class  who  were 
had  in  mind,  the  facts  and  their  principles  would  be 
altogether  new.     And  without  procuring  from  them  a 


PEEFACE.  7 

considerable  application  of  thought  in  reading,  the  im- 
port would,  at  times,  fail  to  be  apprehended. 

Also,  in  making  the  application  of  these  facts,  without 
this  previous  qualification,  at  times  effort  would  be  re- 
quired tp  follow  the  lines  of  evidence,  on  the  part  of 
those  not  readily  inclined  to  the  labor  of  close  reason- 
ing. Then,  too,  though  the  facts  might  be  sufficiently 
familiar,  and  so,  also,  the  processes  of  reasoning  em- 
ployed, their  new  application  might,  for  a  time,  be  to 
some  extent  confusing.  But  mainly  in  the  new  applica- 
tion of  old  facts,  lies  the  achievement  of  the  work. 

These  difficulties  were  constantly  in  mind  in  its  execu- 
tion. Language  was  sought  with  reference  to  its  sim- 
plicity. Figures  were,  for  the  most  part,  left  unused. 
And  so,  too,  as  far  as  practicable,  of  technicalities. 
Facts  were  defined  and  applied  in  the  barest  forms  of  lan- 
guage possible.  And  it  is  confidently  believed  that  by 
the  painstaking  of  which  the  subject  will,  by  most  peo- 
ple, be  deemed  worthy,  the  most  abstruse  parts  of  the 
work  will  be  satisfactorily  mastered,  by  quite  nearly 
every  one  of  ordinary  education. 

It  is,  however,  impossible  to  make  light  reading  of 
such  a  subject.  Hence,  it  is  not  claimed  for  the  book. 
None  should  be  encouraged  to  find  it  of  such  a  character. 
Only  when  one  is  willing  to  bestow  a  worthy  amount  of 
labor  on  a  subject  which  involves  so  great  an  interest, 
should  he  be  encouraged  to  set  out  upon  the  task  of 
reading  it. 

Besides,  it  is  not  expected  to  run  on  as  smoothly  as 


8  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

would  a  book  of  equal  profundity  which  consists  largely  of 
but  the  repetition  of  often  exhibited  and  familiar  thoughts. 
It  would  be  more  proper  to  consider  it  as  a  text-book  on 
the  subject  matter  on  which  it  treats,  and  to  be  frequently 
reviewed  and  referred  to,  than  that  a  casual  reading  of 
it  should  suffice. 

Preparatory  to  the  main  part  of  the  work,  there  are 
placed  several  chapters  on  subjects  not  intimately  relat- 
ing thereto,  by  the  following  of  which  it  was  hoped  the 
reader,  not  conversant  with  its  line  of  thought,  might 
be  led  in  some  measure  to  anticipate  the  principles  em- 
ployed and  the  manner  of  their  employment ;  thus  the 
more  readily  to  follow  the  courses  of  the  arguments  to 
their  proper  conclusions.  Also,  for  the  sake  of  simplic- 
ity, but  few  authorities  are  brought  in.  They  are  such, 
however,  as  are  quite  universally  established,  and  which 
could  be  conveniently  referred  to  in  any  place ;  or,  with 
little  trouble,  be  procured  from  publishers.  Many  tempt- 
ing references  from  equally  good,  but  more  obscure, 
authors  were  from  this  consideration  set  aside. 


Though  indirectly,  in  the  main,  the  subject  of  a  future 
life  has  been  quite  extensively  written  upon.  The  pos- 
sibilities and  probabilities  as  to  such  a  state,  have  in 
this  way  been  searched  over  with  much  care  and  learn- 
ing ;  though  with  quite  opposite  results.  Generally,  too, 
little  has  been  attempted  beyond  what  is  merely  specu- 


PREFACE.  9 

lation.  Hence,  it  is  to  be  expected  that,  by  many,  the 
appearance  of  this  work  will  be  regarded  with  a  negative 
interest — as  but  still  another  on  the  list  of  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  scientifically  ground  the  hope  of  man's  future 
life  and  immortality.  It  is,  however,  to  be  hoped  that 
in  such  cases,  in  the  prospect  of  a  new  method  of  treat- 
ing the  subject,  there  may  be  encouragement  sufficient 
to  cause  an  examination  of  the  claims  here  submitted. 

I  am  unconscious  of  having  treated  the  subject  in 
any  place  negatively  or  tentatively ;  but  in  all  places 
positively  and  conclusively ;  from  a  sense  of  entire  as- 
surance that  with  an  adequate  exposition  of  the  facts, 
their  evidence  of  a  future  life  not  alone,  but  of  a  proper 
immortality,  could  not  be  disputed.  Only  where  I  have 
made  due  mention  of  it,  have  I  varied  from  this  rule. 
And  these  instances  were  not  where  the  main  question  was 
under  consideration ;  but  only  where  the  probable  condi- 
tions incident  to  the  established  fact,  were  canvassed. 

Hence,  what  failures  may  be  found  in  making  the 
conclusions  attained  legitimate,  are  attributable  to  over- 
sight in  the  clear  rendering  of  the  arguments  employed, 
and  not  to  a  want  of  a  requisite  tendency  of  the  facts 
themselves.  But  at  no  stage  of  an  investigation  is  all  said 
that  can  and  will  be  said.  And  what  has  in  this  work  been 
imperfectly  accomplished,  the  future,  at  some  hands, 
will  make  more  clear  and  strong. 


The  work  was  originally  designed  in  two  volumes. 
And  in  changing  the  plan,  with  a  view  to  harmony  with 


10  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

plans  concerning  other  forthcoming  works,  to  bring  the 
essential  matter  into  the  limits  of  one,  required  abridg- 
ing, in  some  places,  more  than  I  felt  sure  was  best.  It 
would  have  satisfied  me  better  to  have  expanded  more 
under  some  heads.  But  the  limits  were  fixed  over  which 
I  could  not  consistently  pass. 


In  a  word  to  friends  who  have,  for  years,  been  urging 
me  to  hasten  its  publication,  I  would  say  that  it  seemed 
to  me  best  to  make  haste  slowly,  and  to  mature  thor- 
oughly a  system  of  evidence,  which,  from  its  being  so 
largely  new  to  the  popular  mind,  might  be  extensively 
misunderstood  and  excite  much  hostile  criticism.  I 
have  hastened,  but  not  at  the  cost  of  thoroughness.  All 
needed  time  I  freely  gave  to  it.  On  the  literature  I  be- 
stowed less  thought  than  on  the  subject  matter.  If  in 
that  respect  I  have  been  successful  enough  to  leave  my 
positions  well  understood,  I  am  content. 

J.  STRAUB. 
Chicago,  III,  1884. 


TABLE     OF     CONTENTS. 


Page 
Introduction         ..-..--        15 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Purpose  Indicated 26 

CHAPTER  n. 
Immortality  in  History. — Evidence  that  the  Belief  in 
THE  Existence  of  Self  in  a  Rational  State  beyond 
Death,  is  an  Elevating  Influence  on  the  Race  40 

CHAPTER  m. 
An  Important  Need  of  the  Church  is  the  Ability  to 

Place  more  Emphasis  on  the  Future  Life        -  60 

• 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Importance  of  Realizing  Powers,  Especially  in  Appre- 
hending the  Evidences  in  Relation  to  the  Doctrine 
of  Immortality 72 

CHAPTER  V. 
Tendency  of  Science  to  Confieim  the  Theory  of  a  State 

OF  Immortality        -        -        -        .        -       .  82 

11 


12  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Location  op  the  Spiritual  State. — Insensible  Worlds 
THAT  WE  Know  of. — A  Universal  Mineral  Ether 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

Insensible  Worlds  that  We  Know  op,  Continued. — 
The  Vegetable  Realm. — A  Vegetable  Ether  Uni- 
versal    108 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

Insensible  Worlds  that  we  Know  of,  Continued. — The 
Animal  Element  in  Nature. — ^Its  Position  Interior 
OP  THE  Vegetable. — Its  Special  Superior  Forces 
AND  Prerogatives. — The  Animal  Ether,  Etc.      -         127 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Insensible  Substances,  Continued. — Intellect  Further 

Considered 144 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Moral  Element  and  State        -        -        -        -        159 

CHAPTER  XI. 
The  Religious  Element  and  State  -        -        -  180 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
Man  in  His  Essential  Self  Continues  Beyond  the  Limits 

of  Physical  Existence. — The  Objections  Reviewed      188 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 


Man  in  His  Essential  Self  Continues  Beyond  the  Limits 
OF  Physical  Existence,  Continued. — The  Argument 
FOR  THE  Affirmative         ...         -        -         228 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Man's  Proper  Immortality  Affirmed  by  the  Organic  Law 
OF  His  Being 267 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Questions  Respecting  the  Relation  op  the  Two 
Worlds. — The  Laws  and  Modes  of  Mental  Inter- 
course, OR  THE  Transmission  of  Thought  -  292 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Questions  Concerning  the  Relation  of  the  Two  Worlds, 
Continued. — Difficulties  Necessarily  Attending 
THE  Transmission  of  Thought. — They  Become  more 
Formidable  between  Residents  of  the  Two  Worlds  8if 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

Questions  Respecting  the  Relations  of  the  Two  Worlds, 
Continued. — Facts  Establishing  the  Possibility 
OF  Inteecoltise  between  Minds  in  the  Flesh  and 
those  Beyond. — Conditions  of  Lucid  Intercourse  Ex- 
tremely Rare. — Special  Devices  for  the  Attainment 
OF  Intercourse  Impracticable  and  Dangerous  to 
Mind  and  Morals 839 


14  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

CHAPTER  XVin. 

Considerations  op  the  Claims  op  Intercourse  between  the 
Two  Worlds. — The  Probable  and  the  Improbable. — 
Its  Appearance  in  the  Bible,  Etc.      -        -        -        868 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Approximate  Analysis  of  Real  Life  in  the  Land  Immortal.- 
Changes  that  are  Possible  ;  that  are  Probable  ;  that 
ARE  Improbable  ;  that  are  Impossible. — Bodily  State 
AND  Advantages. — Death  and  *'Old  Age"  Abolished. 
— Palpable  Surroundings. — Recognitions,  Reunions  I 

AND  Companionships. — Education  and  Worship      -      892  I 

i 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Concluding  Replections  and  Parting  Words  -  428 


INTEODUCTION. 


THEKE  have  been  periods  when  the  world  held  more 
of  the  angry  spirit  of  controversy — when  the  war 
of  words  was  more  common ;  but  there  was,  perhaps, 
never  a  time  when  so  much  deep  and  honest  thought 
was  given  to  the  great  questions  of  religion,  and  when 
the  people  were  so  willing,  and  even  anxious  to  know 
the  truth,  as  now.  And  it  may  be  noted  that,  as  the 
love  of  truth  is  coming  to  possess  the  public  mind,  and 
as  mankind  are  studying  these  questions  with  a  broader 
intelligence  and  a  clearer  realization  of  their  relative 
place  and  importance,  the  lines  of  debate  are  narrowing 
down  to  a  few  vital  points.  It  is  no  longer  possible  in 
any  intelligent  community  to  awaken  much  interest  over 
such  questions  as  the  cut  of  a  gown,  or  the  mode  of 
baptism,  or  the  use  of  instrumental  music  in  a  church. 
Such  debates  can  have  only  a  local  or  party  interest. 
Nor  does  the  public  inind  care  much  about  many  of  the 
non-essential  isms  that  divide  the  Protestant  churches, 
nor  those  even  that  are  peculiar  to  the  Catholic  church. 
And  why  these  changes?  It  is  because  men  of 
broader  minds  are  coming  to  see  that  in  the  practical 
work  of  religion  we  are  all  aiming  at  the  same  thing ; 
and  that  whilst  some  methods  may  be  more  efficient 

15 


X6  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

than  others,  the  important  thing  is  that  the  work  be 
done.  And  in  the  domain  of  thought,  or  looking  at  re- 
ligion as  a  system  of  doctrines,  it  is  seen  that  the  whole 
issue  turns  upon  a  few  vital  points,  and  that  if  these  be 
clearly  established,  the  foundations  are  secure ;  but  if 
these  be  lost,  or  be  not  accepted  by  faith  and  reason, 
then  all  is  lost  and  there  is  nothing  left  about  which 
serious  thinkers  care  to  argue. 

First  among  these  vital  questions — first  in  the  order 
of  reason,  and  fundamental  to  the  others,  is  that  of 
Theism — Is  there  a  God?  Is  there  such  a  thing  as 
Spirit?  Does  Spirit,  Intelligence,  Keason,  lie  back  of 
matter,  informing  and  controlling  its  phenomena,  or 
is  what  we  call  intelligence  or  reason  a  result  of  phys- 
ical laws  ?  Is  mind  as  it  appears  in  man  but  the  last 
product  of  physical  organism,  or  is  the  mind  a  some- 
thing in  itself;  an  entity  that  gathers  about  itself  a 
living  body?  And  second,  and  closely  related  to  the 
question  of  Theism,  is  that  of  man's  continued  life  be- 
yond what  we  call  death.  Does  he  live  on  beyond  this 
change  in  which  the  body  goes  back  to  dust  ?  And  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  one  question  depends  very  largely 
upon  the  other.  If  mind  and  reason  begin  in  matter, 
and  result  from  it  and  this  matter  that  has  evolved 
mind,  itself  die,  and  go  back  to  its  inorganic  state,  why 
should  not  mind  also  be  dissolved?  But  if  mind  be 
first,  if  spirit  have  in  itself  a  life  of  its  own,  and  have 
simply  dwelt  in  matter  as  a  house,  then  why  may  it  not 
survive  ?  And  if  it  be  accepted  and  proved  that  there 
is  this  finer  world  of  spirit,  and  that  man's  real  being  is 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

cast  and  conditioned  in  that  world  and  that  both  man 
and  his  world  shall  last  forever,  then  arises  the  question 
of  final  cause,  or  for  what  is  such  an  existence  intended, 
and  how  should  such  a  life  be  lived?  And  here  come 
in  the  great  questions  of  righteousness,  of  duty,  and  re- 
lated to  these  are  questions  of  the  ethical  character  of 
God,  and  as  to  what  help  through  inspiration  and  the 
vicariousness  of  love  is  offered  to  man  in  such  a  life  as 
this,  and  what  is  to  be  the  final  destiny  of  the  race. 

And  thus  we  can  see  the  real  questions  of  thought 
centering  at  last  about  a  few  vital  points.  And  it  may 
be  noted  again,  that  certain  modifying  influences  have 
come  in  to  change  both  the  spirit  and  the  ground  of  the 
debates. 

The  earlier  and  the  middle  ages,  or  the  ages  of  faith,, 
affirmed  largely  and  without  any  hesitancy  or  misgiving 
as  to  the  certainty  of  what  they  taught.  They  could 
define  the  Trinity,  and  map  out  the  exact  location  and 
limits  of  heaven  and  hell.  But  it  came  to  be  known 
after  while  that  these  teachers  knew  very  little  of  the 
present  nature  of  man  and  of  the  world  in  which  he 
lived,  and  as  this  ignorance  of  things  near  at  hand  be- 
came more  and  more  apparent,  there  arose  a  suspicion 
and  a  distrust  of  what  had  been  taught  about  God,  and 
the  soul,  and  the  future.  And  it  was  only  natural  that 
under  these  circumstances  men  should  begin  the  work  of 
actual  investigation  in  the  study  of  themselves  and  of 
their  present  world ;  and  as  a  result  of  these  studies 
the  nature  and  the  mystery  of  m'rxn  liimself,  and  to  him- 
self, have  so  widened  and  deepened,  and  the  world  and 

2 


18  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

the  universe  have  so  enlarged  that  mankind  now  stand 
amazed  and  almost  overpowered  before  the  revelations 
of  their  own  discoveries.  This,  together  with  the  natural 
reaction  from  a  once  too  large  and  easy  faith,  has 
brought  about  a  state  of  thought  where  many  do  not 
care  to  either  affirm  nor  yet  to  deny,  but  say,  "  We  do  not 
know."  And  men  who  are  not  agnostics  are  so  influ- 
enced by  this  larger  vision  of  themselves  and  the  uni- 
verse that  there  is  more  of  the  true  modesty  of  faith 
and  less  of  that  offensive  dogmatism  that  was  once  in- 
tolerant even  of  a  question,  and  looked  upon  honest 
doubt  as  a  sin ;  and  there  seems  also  to  be  more  of  the 
teachable  spirit,  and  the  desire  to  learn. 

The  attention  of  mankind  having  been  called  to  the 
material  side  of  things,  and  their  studies  of  nature 
having  led  to  such  marvelous  results,  it  was  not  strange 
that  the  great  questions  of  religion  that  had  before  been 
largely  metaphysical  should  come  over  to  the  material. 
When  chemistry  had  traced  nature  back  to  simple  ele- 
ments, and  astronomy  had  resolved  planets  and  suns 
into  a  great  order  and  bound  all  worlds  fast  in  the  law 
of  gravity,  it  was  natural  that  men  should  ask.  What 
evidence  of  God  have  we  found  here  ?  What  evidence 
of  a  spiritual  nature  in  man  ?  In  other  words,  it  was 
natural  that  they  should  try  to  make  a  science  of  re- 
ligion, as  well  as  of  nature.  And  it  is  just  here  that 
the  struggle  is  going  on  now ;  and  here  it  is  likely  to 
continue  for  years  to  come.  And  it  is  just  at  this  point 
that  Mr.  Straub  enters  the  field  with  his  able  and  timely 
work  on  "The  Consolations  of  Science." 


INTKODUCTION.  19 

Many  have  feared  that  the  results  of  science  would  be> 
not  only  to  unsettle  the  public  mind,  but  to  leave  the 
world  with  less  faith  in  the  great  central  doctrines  of 
religion.  As  we  have  seen,  as  mankind  began  to  look 
at  the  larger  facts  and  questions  of  the  universe,  the 
lesser  questions — the  little  side  issues  of  party,  began 
to  drop  out  of  sight.  But  the  great  questions  remain. 
They  will  not  drop  out  of  sight,  nor  can  thoughtful 
minds  lightly  turn  from  them.  Nor  can  they  be  taken, 
out  of  the  hands  of  science  and  passed  back  again  to 
the  church  where  they  once  were.  Keligion  has  become 
a  matter  of  the  people ;  the  scientific  men  of  our  time 
are  the  thinking  men.  Science  having  done  so  much  to 
clear  up  other  mysteries  and  to  lighten  the  burdens  of 
labor,  naturally  has  the  ear  and  the  sympathy  of  the 
people.  Moreover,  it  is  felt  that  all  truth  should  be  in 
harmony — that  God's  two  great  revelations,  the  Bible 
and  nature,  should  teach  the  same  things. 

Men  of  large  thought  and  faith  and  who  have  really 
believed  in  the  truths  of  revelation,  have  at  no  time 
doubted  that  all  of  this  sublime  study  of  the  natural — 
this  apparent  going  into  bondage  to  the  material,  and  for 
the  time  seeing  nothing  else,  would  at  the  last  bring  the 
mind  to  a  clearer  realization  of  the  divine.  They  have 
believed  that  this  everywhere  presence  of  law,  that  at 
first  seemed  to  push  back  the  thought  and  the  necessity 
of  a  God — ^to  account  for  the  phenomena  of  the  universe  . 
without  God,  would  at  last  reveal  the  ^i^iinency  of  his  wnaWW<^ 
presence,  not  outside  of  nature  and  law,  but  inside; 
and  thus  the  fact  of  the  divine  be  felt  and  confessed  by 


20  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

all.  And  minds  thus  illumined  have  felt  all  the  time 
that  as  another  result,  man  himself,  instead  of  dwin- 
dling almost  into  nothingness  in  comparison  to  the  im- 
mensity of  things  about  him,  would  rise  to  the  higher 
conception  of  himself,  not  as  a  handful  of  vitalized 
dust,  but  as  a  life,  a  spirit,  dwelling  now  in  the  flesh, 
but  having  his  real  being  in  the  unseen  world  of  truths 
and  principles  and  moral  affections,  and  hence  related 
to  the  divine  and  the  imperishable ;  in  his  real  self,  or  in 
the  essence  of  his  being,  immortal. 

So  deeply  is  our  author  imbued  with  this  faith  and 
feeling  that  he  maintains  that  all  the  deeper  lines  of 
scientific  thought,  and  of  the  discoveries  made,  point  in 
this  direction,  and  are  even  now  far  on  the  way  to  make 
the  conclusion,  if  not  irresistible,  at  least  so  reasonable 
as  not  to  be  doubted ;  and  he  predicts  a  near  time  when 
the  fact  of  a  continued  life  beyond  death  shall  be  so 
reahzed  that  all  shall  walk  in  the  light  and  ecstasy  of  an 
assured  immortality,  and  of  personal  identity,  and  the 
sweet  companionship  of  dear  ones  forever. 

The  patiently  arranged  facts,  and  the  careful  inductions 
by  which  these  conclusions  are  reached,  must  be  found 
in  Mr.  Straub's  own  words ;  but  we  may  say  that  the 
appearance  of  such  a  work  is  just  now  most  opportune. 
Many  minds  are  doubting ;  many  are  asking  for  more 
than  the  words  of  the  Bible;  many  are  fearing  that 
science  is  working  the  destruction  of  faith.  At  such  a 
time  this  patient  thinker  and  scholar  comes  along  to  tell 
us  of  "  The  Consolations  of  Science ; "  that  real  science 
is  not  the  enemy  of  real  Christian  faith,  but  the  friend ; 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

and  is  opening  wider  the  doors  that  lead  into  the  "  Holy 
of  Holies, "  to  Spirit  and  God ;  that  there  is  an  "  unseen 
universe  "  lying  over  against  and  within  that  which  is 
visible  and  apparent  to  the  senses.  The  outer,  the  vis- 
ible, is  in  a  state  of  constant  whirl  and  change ;  it  may 
be  resohed  back  into  its  original  elements,  or  dissipated 
in  inpalpable  gases ;  but  the  universe  of  life  and  princi- 
ples in  which  man  finds  his  consciousness,  his  freedom, 
his  real  self-hood,  is  not  and  cannot  be  affected  by  any 
of  these  outer  changes.  Man  may  sum  up  in  himself 
all  there  is  of  nature  below  him ;  but  this  is  not  his  full 
measure ;  he  is  more ;  h«.  is  a  spirit ;  he  has  a  moral 
nature ;  he  has  the  "  free-will  "  that  Mr.  Darwin  admits 
is  "  a  mystery  insoluble  to  the  naturalist. "  And  thus 
man,  though  a  part  of  nature,  and  with  a  body  con- 
ditioned in  natural  laws,  has  a  something  beyond  this, 
and  hence  he  may  give  back  his  body  to  the  earth  and 
yet  himself  live  on  in  his  finer,  his  real  world  of  spirit. 

And  thus,  in  the  light  of  evolution,  the  argument  for 
immortality  seems  to  gather  strength ;  for  somehow  in 
the  long  way  man  has  picked  up,  or  come  to  possess, 
and  to  be,  a  something  more  than  matter.  He  has  at- 
tained to  liberty,  to  self-hood,  to  a  moral  nature ;  to  a 
life  conditioned  in  truths  and  principles  that  are  neces- 
sarily imperishable ;  and  having  reached  this,  why  not 
from  this  deeper  rooting  in  the  very  essence  of  things, 
continue  to  live  on  forever? 

There  is  one  phase  or  postulate,  however,  of  the  doc- 
trine of  evolution,  that  in  the  present  form  of  the  doc- 
trine,   seems   to   conflict    with  the   Christian  idea   of 


22  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

immortality,  and  that  is  the  doctrine  of  the  "  Tsiirvival 
of  the  strongest."  There  is  a  school  of  theologians 
who  teach  a  "  conditional  immortality ; "  or  that  man  is 
not  immortal  in  the  essence  of  his  being,  but  may  at- 
tain immortality  through  virtue;  and  that  failing  of 
this,  he  naturally  falls  back  into  non-existence;  and 
with  this  view  the  "  survival  of  the  strongest  "  seems  to 
be  in  perfect  accord.  But  this  is  not  Christianity. 
Christianity  is  essentially  beneficent.  Its  very  genius 
places  it  on  the  side  of  the  weak,  and  carries  it  over 
into  the  land  of  shadows  and  death  to  save  the  perishing. 
It  gathers,  not  the  strong  and  the  well  who  "  need  not  a 
physician, "  but  goes  to  the  sick  and  the  dying.  It  is  a 
gospel  to  the  blind,  and  the  deaf,  and  the  imprisoned ; 
and  under  its  gentle  touch  even  the  "  bruised  reed  shall 
not  be  broken."  Christianity  teaches  that  man  is  a 
child  of  God ;  that  in  his  very  essence  he  is  the  "  off- 
spring "  of  God ;  and  that  God's  greatest  care  and  love 
go  out  for  the  lowest,  the  worst,  the  lost,  the  dead. 

But,  admitting  the  theory  of  a  Theistic  evolution  as  a 
method  or  process  in  the  great  order  of  things,  it  may  favor, 
and  even  illustrate  the  fact  that  only  goodness  can  survive, 
that  evil  is  a  passing  phase  in  the  experience  and  train- 
ing of  souls  whilst  in  the  body,  and  that  the  spirit  in 
its  onward  march  shall  cast  off  these  earthly  conditions 
and  rise  into  the  higher  perfection  of  the  life  celestial. 
This  view  holds  to  all  that  is  tenderest  and  dearest  in 
the  genius  of  Christianity  in  saviug  the  weakest  and  the 
most  imperfect ;  but  it  saves  and  develops  only  the  good, 
and  transcends  and  casts  off  the  bad ;  and  hence  looks 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

to  the  ultimate  perfection  and  the  final  harmony  of  the 
moral  universe,  and  not  to  the  old  and  offensive  doc- 
trine of  the  permanence  and  perpetuity  of  evil  and  suf- 
fering forever.  The  moral  judgment  of  mankind  is  not 
offended  at  the  presence  of  evil  and  suffering  in  the 
process  of  development,  or  in  the  experience  of  men, 
and  in  the  evolution  of  the  good,  but  any  theory  that 
makes  evil  and  suffering  appear  not  only  in  the  process, 
but  in  the  last  result,  makes  a  Theodicy  impossible ;  it 
leaves  the  works  of  God  not  only  unfinished,  but  un- 
finishable.  It  leaves  the  moral  order  not  only  imper- 
fect, but  deformed ;  and  hence  it  leaves  to  faith  but  an 
imperfect  God — a  God  that  is  not  the  best ;  and  hence  is 
not  God  at  all.  But  this  view,  notwithstanding  the 
powerful  and  persistent  efforts  that  are  made  to  force  it 
upon  the  unwilling  faith  of  the  age,  is  fast  loosing  its 
hold  as  a  vital  belief.  Indeed,  it  has  ceased  to  have 
much  weight  with  the  great  mass  of  thinkers. 

It  seems  then  that  science  is  to  add  her  testimony  to 
the  Bible  in  affirming  the  great  truth  of  the  immortality 
of  the  race ;  not  only  of  the  individual  but  of  all ;  and 
hence  the  immortality  of  society ;  the  conscious  pursuit 
and  joy  of  friendship,  of  truth,  of  love,  forever.  And 
this,  -with  the  thought  that  evil  shall  end  and  suffering 
cease,  opens  up  a  future  that  should  give  mankind 
strength  and  resignation  and  hope  amidst  the  trials  and 
sorrows  of  "  this  present  evil  world. " 

It  is  evident  that  if  immortality  be  not  a  fact,  the 
fact  can  never  be  proved ;  nor  can  it  ever  be  known. 
We  cannot  stand  on  this  side  of  death  and  certainly 


24                        CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE.  ] 

affirm  that  the  soul  does  not  live  on ;  and  if  each  one  | 

at  death  should  cease  to  be,  no  voice  can  ever  reach  us  I 

from  the  land  of  nothingness  to  tell  us  there  is  no  future ;  | 

nor  shall  we  know  that  we  ever  had  a  past ;  that  we  J 

ever  were.     The  argument  then,  and  the  facts,  so  far  as  | 

argument  and  facts  can  go,  must  be  on  one  side ;  and  ] 

that  is  the  side  of  life.  Life  is.  Why  should  it  cease  to  be  ?  ! 

Life  is  a  fact — a  persistent  energy,  making  possible  and  i 

holding  all  there  is  in  thought,  in  beauty,  in  love,  in  joy.  • 

Death  is   a  nonentity,  a   nothing;    or  only  a  passing  ■ 

phase,  or  an  appearance.    Death  has  no  God,  for  "  God  ; 
is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living  " — of  life, 
and  hence,  in  the  world  of  the  real  there  is  no  death. 

H.  W.  Thomas. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE    PURPOSE    INDICATED. 


ATHOEOUGH  realization  of  the  continuance  of  the 
self  of  man  with  all  the  essential  parts  of  his 
being  beyond  death,  could  hardly  fail  to  produce  a  ben- 
eficial change  in  the  habit  of  human  thought,  and  con- 
sequently in  human  conduct.  Hence,  to  establish  such  a 
realization  in  the  minds  of  the  people  is  one  of  the 
most  pressing  needs  of  the  age.  Especially  were  such 
a  sentiment  beneficial  if  ifc  included  the  facts  that  the 
social  dependencies  of  mankind  are  not  changed  in  the 
change  of  worlds,  and  that  the  consequences  of  right 
and  wrong  doing  in  this  life  are  necessarily  met  with  in 
the  life  beyond. 

The  prevailing  realization  as  to  life  is  such  as  to 
limit  it  wholly  to  this  visible  state.  All  that  there  is 
for  man  to  do  and  to  be,  is,  practically,  with  reference 
to  temporal  life  only.  Hence,  in  a  general  way,  life  is 
little  influenced  by  any  of  the  strong  and  generous 
impulses  which  the  consciousness  of  a  responsible 
after- death  existence  would  call  forth.  Notwithstanding 
that  there  is  commonly  some  impression  that  something 
of  self  continues  in  the  great  hereafter — a  common 
expectance  and  hope  of  immortality — the  impression 
lacks  realness ;  and  hence  the  impulses  derived  from  it 

25 


26  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

are  in  the  main  weak  and  ineffectual.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  overwhelming  sense  of  this  world — 
the  unqualified  realization  of  these  visible  surroundings, 
tending  with  the  average  mind  to  impress  this  as  the 
whole  of  human  existence — chiefly  influences  the  plan- 
nings  and  policies  of  action  among  mankind,  who  are 
so  largely  predisposed  to  overreaching  selfishness. 

Looking  about  upon  the  world  we  are  living  in,  and 
seeing  its  large  adaptation  to  human  happiness,  with 
abundance  to  supply  every  need,  we  may  well  be  aston- 
ished to  see  so  much  suffering,  even  in  communities  of 
superior  intelligence — so  much  solicitous  hard  straining,. 
on  the  part  of  many  good  people,  to  make  the  ends  meet 
in  the  matter  of  an  adequate  living.  And  this  suggests 
the  questions :  Is  human  effort  rightly  directed  ?  Is 
there  not  an  oversight  of  some  greatly  important  prin- 
ciple of  action  to  which  this  suffering  and  this  all-ab- 
sorbing solicitude  may  be  due  ?  Instead  of  co-operative 
effort,  is  there  not  a  conflict  of  interest,  leading  to 
mutual  aggression?  Is  it  not  too  common  that  the 
success  of  one  is  dependent  on  the  corresponding  failure 
of  another  ?  Are  the  struggles  for  subsistence  not  more 
struggles  one  with  another,  than  with  the  resources  of 
nature  ? 

It  will  be  conceded  that  the  means  of  subsistence  and 
of  enjoyment  are  too  little  sought  in  the  resources  of 
nature  or  in  the  equitable  development  of  a  common 
interest,  and  too  much  by  appropriating  from  the  right- 
ful possessions  of  fellow  beings.  The  exchange  of 
commodities  from  hand  to  hand,  as  in  the  commercial 


THE  PURPOSE  INDICATED.  27 

world,  is  itself  one  means  of  producing  from  nature, 
and  is  indispensable  to  the  common  good.  It  serves  to 
convey  substance  to  all  the  parts  and  members  of  the 
common  body  of  the  race,  as  by  the  nutritive  circulation 
of  the  animal  body  all  its  functions  are  ministered  to. 
And  also  by  it  there  is  conveyed  some  of  the  needed 
fraternal  feeling  throughout  the  great  brotherhood.  But 
too  commonly  by  a  short-sighted  disregard  for  the  rights 
.of  others,  the  beautiful  equity  of  this  system  is  im- 
paired by  diverting  what  belongs  to  one,  to  the  title  and 
uses  of  another,  breeding  discord  and  distress  to  the 
extent  the  wrong  is  indulged. 

There  is  no  injustice  in  according  a  larger  return  to 
the  one  who  achieves  more,  either  by  muscle  or  by  brain ; 
it  is  rightfully  due  to  him.  But  this  must  not  be  from 
the  possessions  of  others,  without  an  equivalent.  En- 
terprise and  genius  must  not  enlarge  themselves  in  this 
way,  or  beware  of  penalties  to  be  paid  somewhere ! 

But  so  common  is  the  disposition  to  this  kind  of 
sharp  bargaining — this  "shrewd-business-man"  kind  of 
operation — that  little  objection  is  raised  to  it.  What 
the  rich  autocrat  thus  is  doing,  the  penniless  underling 
would  do.  The  want  of  recognizing  this  injustice  is 
not  the  mistake  of  a  few  nor  a  class.  It  is  rather  a 
characteristic  error  of  the  age,  and  to  be  corrected  by 
the  introduction  of  new  principles  concerning  life, — by 
a  reform  in  popular  thought  that  will  bring  people  from 
even  selfish  motives  to  seek  the  good  of  others. 

And  what  thought,  brought  into  common  favor,  would 
be  better  calculated  to  abolish  this  oppression  in  the 


28  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

social  body  than  that  which  would  take  in  the  life 
beyond  the  grave  as  a  reality,  and  that  generally  one  is 
followed  there  by  the  companions  of  this  life,  and  that 
the  deserts  of  this  life  will  continue  in  some  measure  to 
affect  the  soul's  happiness  in  the  next  ? 

Then,  again,  in  times  of  general  business  depression, 
accompanied  by  more  than  the  usual  business  disasters, 
there  is  complaining  of  want  of  integrity  among  men 
in  business  relations.  And  among  the  diversity  of 
opinions  as  to  the  cause,  there  seems  to  be  one  theory 
quite  commonly  accepted,  which  is,  this  same  selfishness. 
And  this  might  solve  the  whole  problem  concerning 
the  evil,  if  we  were  content  with  the  immediate  cause 
only,  and  cared  not  to  understand  the  remoter  cause, 
which  must  be  remedied  before  we  cease  to  have  trouble 
of  this  kind.  From  a  general  relaxation  of  the  too 
rigid  intolerance  toward  the  liberties  of  the  people  an 
extreme  is  attained.  Instead  of  holding  restraint  upon 
others  too  tightly,  it  has  come  to  be  the  disposition  to 
let  go  too  much — ^to  care  too  little  for  the  deportment  of 
others.  From  a  too  narrow  view  to  conserve  but  the 
interest  of  self,  too  little  has  been  the  disposition  to  care 
for  the  proper  growth  of  the  moral  sense  in  others. 

A  large  part  of  the  world  has  been  affected  by  a 
formative  period  of  this  kind ;  partly  as  the  result  of 
certain  humane  reforms  that  were  persistently  urged  on 
by  a  school  of  strong  agitators.  And  so  great  is  this 
change,  that  whereas  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  in  this 
country,  slavery  was  commonly  approved,  now  even 
former  slaveholders  express  themselves  opposed  to  it. 


IHE  PURPOSE  INDICATED.  29 

And  in  respect  to  religious  tolerance  the  change  is  quite 
as  great.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  to  be  out  of  the 
line  of  established  orthodoxy  was  to  peril  one's  soul; 
now,  where  there  is  enough  religion  to  admit  of  belief 
that  one  has  a  soul,  it  is  considered  of  trifling  im- 
portance whether  he  worships  by  orthodoxy  or  hetero- 
doxy, or  even  worships  at  all. 

The  growth  of  liberality  has  been  surprising;  but, 
outside  of  special  friendships,  the  attainment  made  has 
been  more  to  an  indifference  than  to  a  proper  liberality. 
The  large  tolerance  of  our  times  is  to  a  great  extent 
merely  an  indifference  toward  others.  And  if  there  is 
little  ill  will  in  it  there  is  likewise  little  positive  good 
will.  Practically,  it  is  that  there  is  little  choice  at  all  in 
the  fare  of  the  unaffiliated  neighbor.  Much  of  this 
liberality  takes  the  bad  shape  of  a  mere  willingness 
that  others  may  do  quite  as  they  please,  so  long  as  one 
himself  is  undisturbed  and  thriving  in  his  own  inclina- 
tions ;  largely  ignoring  that  invaluable  spirit  of  mutual 
help  among  mankind,  pertaining  to  all  classes  of  necessi- 
ties and  uses.  Such  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  true 
liberality  which  consists  in  sacrificing  for  the  good  of 
others — contributing  aid  to  them  in  achieving  success 
in  all  the  interests  of  life. 

This  formative  period  will,  however,  not  pass  without 
leaving  many  good  results — substantial  gains  over  the 
past.  Yet  the  reaction  which  is  to  be  foared,  and 
which  is  even  now  expressing  itself  in  these  laments  of 
bad  faith  in  business  and  social  relations,  is  likely  to 
chill  this  large  tolerance' and  carry  a  large  part  of  pop- 


30  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

ular  sentiment  back  again  far  toward  the  extreme  from 
whence  it  was  wrested.  Only  the  timely  acceptance  of 
a  sentiment  of  liberality  on  a  basis  of  universal  co-op- 
eration of  the  members  of  the  race  to  elevate  each 
other's  lives,  and  so  the  common  life  of  society,  can 
avail  to  reap  any  very  large  gain  from  the  crisis. 

The  love  of  possession  is  not  wrong.  The  gratifica- 
tion of  self,  the  establishment  of  self  interest,  the  ac- 
quisition of  estates  and  pleasant  surroundings,  the 
subjugation  and  culture  of  wild  nature,  rendering  it 
more  beautiful  and  useful,  are  in  harmony  with  the 
highest  sense  of  right.  And  when  one  pursues  these 
ends  in  the  spirit  of  a  common  interest  with  his  fellows, 
he  brings  himself  into  happy  accord  with  the  Deity, 
and  achieves  for  himself  an  essential  good.  Only  the 
tendency  to  overreach,  and  trespass  on  the  rights  of 
another,  to  divert  from  his  possessions  to  his  own,  to 
refuse  him  co-operative  sympathy,  can  convert  the  dis- 
position to  acquire   into  wrong. 

Whatever  other  conditions  may  be  found  essential  to 
man's  real  happiness,  the  well-being  of  his  fellow  man, 
the  inspiring  influence  of  his  love,  gratitude  and  appre- 
ciation, as  well  as  temporal  aid  from  him,  is  positively 
indispensable  in  all  places  and  states  of  his  being. 
God's  chief  blessing  to  man  is  his  fellow  man.  In  him 
he  has  the  essential  external  help  in  the  development 
and  utilization  of  his  possessions.  Sharing  the  world 
with  an  innumerable  family  of  brothers  and  sisters — 
making  it  to  be  the  common  estate  of  the  Great  Father 
for  his  earthly  household,  makes  the  few  acres  that  fall 


TEMPOEAL    AID.  31 

to  his  lot  infinitely  more  valuable  to  him  than  were  the 
title  of  continents  and  seas  outstretched  over  the  whole 
face  of  nature,  without  the  companionship  and  co-op- 
eration of  his  fellows.  The  sense  of  value  in  it  at  all 
would  be  expelled  from  it  by  the  expulsion  of  those  by 
whose  appreciation  of  it,  mainly,  he  gathers  the  idea  of 
its  worth. 

TEMPORAL  AID  NOT  ALL  THAT  IS  NEEDED. 

Yet  the  smallest  part  of  the  value  of  this  com- 
panionship consists  in  the  manifold  material  aid  that  is 
realized  thereby.  Man  lives  not  by  bread  alone.  He 
has  a  nature  with  wonderful  endowments  of  thought 
and  feeling,  requiring  appropriate  supplies.  And  these 
unsupplied  would  presently  leave  him  an  object  of 
misery  and  imbecility.  These  supplies  are  to  a  large 
extent  the  result  of  reciprocity  between  the  beings  who 
possess  these  attributes  of  life  in  common.  There  is 
an  influence  from  the  thought  and  feeling  of  a  fellow 
being  upon  which  one  who  has  thought  and  feeling  of 
his  own  depends  for  the  increase  and  enjoyment  of 
these  parts  of  his  nature.  They  yield  satisfaction  only 
by  exchanging  with  others.  What  does  a  fountain  yield 
into  which  nothing  flows, — that  has  no  receptacle  into 
which  to  flow?  The  waters  themselves  would  stagnate 
and  die.  And  what  were  thoughts  and  affections  to  us 
without  intelligent  and  affectionate  objects  unto  whom 
to  transfer  them  ?  It  is  readily  recalled  that  the  mind 
that  is  shut  up,  having  to  retain  its  ideas  in  itself  for 
want  of    a   companion   unto   whom   to   impart   them, 


32  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

presently  becomes  unproductive;  and,  in  like  manner,, 
the  loving  sensibilities.  And  the  same  results  follow 
when  not  thus  ministered  to  by  others. 

The  intelligent  and  refined  at  once  feel  the  loss  keenly 
when  placed  in  social  surroundings  that  neither  receive 
nor  impart  upon  the  grade  of  their  own  attainments; 
and  to  be  permitted  to  resume  proper  relations,  a  festiv- 
ity of  soul  takes  place  which  is  as  gratifying  and 
refreshing  to  its  nature  as  is  physical  nourishment  to 
the  hungry  body. 

From  every  point  of  view  the  law  is  verified  that  an 
individual  life,  abstracted  from  all  associations  of  its 
kind,  is  greatly  impoverished  and  incapable  of  rising, 
or  even  of  continued  subsistence ;  and  that  to  himself 
no  less  than  to  others  man  owes  it  to  seek  the  compe- 
tence and  accomplishment  of  his  fellow  man.  Man  is 
ever  the  chief  factor  of  man's  happiness,  and  to  bless 
his  own  existence  rightly  and  fully,  every  transaction, 
commercially  and  socially,  he  must  make  with  consider- 
ation of  its  effect  on  the  welfare  of  others  as  well  as 
on  his  own.  Even  from  the  lowest  type  he  may  not 
withhold,  with  impunity,  the  aid  that  would  augment 
happiness  and  usefulness.  Every  character  of  his  as- 
sociation has  a  weight,  the  influence  of  which,  however 
remotely,  affects  his  own  condition. 

But  as  in  the  relation  of  human  lives  to  each  other 
lies  the  chief  interest  to  human  existence,  and,  under 
the  Deity,  the  main  power  of  human  elevation,  to  the 
abuses  of  that  relation  must  also  be  charged  the  bulk  of 
human  misery.     And  in  fact  there  it  is  found.     The 


TEMPOBAL  AID.  33 

disturbing  cause  of  the  major  part  of  human  distress 
is  not  in  the  Creator,  nor  in  the  world  man  lives  in,  but 
principally  in  the  blindness  or  infirmity  by  which,  in 
the  eagerness  to  supply  his  wants,  he  is  misled  into 
trespassing  on  the  domain  of  others.  The  light  of  a 
true  life  and  of  a  true  immortality  has  not  yet  risen 
upon  his  understanding,  and  in  this  most  disastrous 
ignorance,  he  has  too  commonly  made  the  prey  upon 
others  the  field  of  his  enterprise,  and  sought  his  ad- 
vancement in  the  depression,  instead  of  the  elevation, 
of  his  neighbor. 

The  evil  has,  in  general  terms,  been  pointed  out,  and 
by  a  large  number  recognized,  and  the  Christianization 
of  the  world  has  been  uniformly  indicated  as  the  only 
remedy.  And  truly  the  Christian  life  is  the  point  to  be 
attained.  But  in  Christianizing,  special  motives  are 
commonly  appealed  to.  The  bare  word  of  duty  to 
the  sleeping  or  the  dead  is  insufficient.  The  history  of 
mankind  uniformly  teaches  that  the  reforms  of  life 
come  about  by  first  introducing  reforms  in  the  mode  of 
thought;  directing  the  aspirations  to  the  objects 
corresponding. with  the  change  contemplated. 

One  prominent  adjunct  to  reform  has  been  civil  legis- 
lation put  into  the  hands  of  a  judiciary  and  executive. 
There  has  not  been  much  lack  of  good  laws ;  especially 
when  they  have  come  from  the  representatives  of  the 
people ;  but,  however  intelligently  devised,  equal  genius; 
has  usually  foiled  them,  by  the  evil  disposed.  Good 
people  have  little  need  of  legal  restraints,  while  the  bad 
usually  manage   to  live  in   disregard  of  them.     The 


34  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

needed  reform  is  not  given  into  the  hands  of  the  legis- 
lator, nor  the  executive,  but  to  him  who  is  able  to 
institute  the  requisite  new  order  of  thought.  He  is  the 
first  to  elevate  the  lives  of  the  people  who  will  first  ele- 
vate their  thoughts  and  direct  their  aspirations  toward 
ends  that  come  within  the  provisions  of  that  universal 
equity  born  of  the  consideration  of  man's  immortal  uni- 
ty with  man  and  with  God. 

It  may  also  be  questioned  whether  the  Christian 
Church  of  to-day  is  bringing  to  bear  all  the  motives  in 
its  Christianizing  work  that  were  employed  by  the  Apos- 
tolic Church.  Man  is  not  fully  appealed  to  when  his 
endless  existence,  with  a  never-ceasing  responsibility  for 
the  deeds  of  life,  is  not  also  appealed  to.  He  is  not 
fully  appealed  to  when  the  great  outlying  future  of 
his  life  beyond  death  is  not  made  to  duly  appear, 
wherein  his  brother  is  his  companion  still,  bearing 
witness  of  the  right  and  the  wrong  received  at  his 
hands.  Being  appealed  to  in  the  wholeness  of  his  ap- 
pointed duration  and  responsibilities,  the  restricted, 
selfish  policies  of  this  life  may  soon  become  too  mean 
for  his  taste.  And  his  energetic  ambition  may  be  set  to 
achieving  the  greater  ends  of  life — the  enriching  of 
mankind  in  intelligence,  and  the  love  of  purity  and 
equity.  His  positive  interest  to  have  them  so,  would  be 
a  power  to  overcome  his  disinclination  to  work  in  the 
vineyard  of  souls,  to  which  ordinary  entreaties  are 
without  avail. 

By  this  view  of  life,  in  which  the  good  of  the  whole 
is  seen  to  be  a  necessity  to  self,  while  it  may  not  be  out 


TEMPORAL  AID.  35 

of  a  brother's  love  for  a  brother,  yet  a  brother's 
behavior  toward  a  brother  will  be  attained.  And 
more :  would  it  not  be  the  disposition,  under  the  reali- 
zation of  this  state  of  social  unity,  presently  to  look 
about  for  the  means  to  realize  also  that  bond  of  love 
which  is  the  chief  basis  of  this  unity  of  life  and  interest 
of  man  in  man?  Assured  of  its  existence  and  of  the 
superior  happiness  its  realization  would  confer,  would 
not  even  the  selfish  seek  to  realize  it  ?  Would  not  the 
masses  be  largely  influenced  to  that  end — accepting 
gladly  the  hand  that  would  lead  the  way  to  this  great 
good  ?  What  but  this  same  Gospel  principle  of  a  fellow 
love,  brought  to  a  realization,  was  it  that  so  strongly 
attached  the  poor  to  Jesus,  to  follow  him  and  partake 
of  his  words  of  soothing  friendship  with  gladness  ? 

During  late  years  much  has  been  said  of  the  uni- 
versal brotherhood,  and  the  largest  part  of  our  progress 
is  due  to  the  efficiency  with  which  many  pulpits,  ros- 
trums, books  and  journals  have  forced  this  sentiment 
upon  public  notice.  But  its  intellectual  recognition  is  far 
more  extensive  than  its  realization.  As  a  philosophy, 
it  is  very  commonly  accepted,  while  as  a  rule  of  life  it 
extends  to  but  few.  And  the  question  is  :  Why  ?  The 
answer  may  be  implied  in  another  question :  Is  the 
term  "  brotherhood  "  rightly  understood  ?  Brothers  by 
a  common  human  blood  are  sometimes  aliens  at  heart, 
and  as  readily  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  greed  as  is  an 
ox  on  the  shambles. 

We  have  not  the  full  meaning  of  the  brotherhood  of 
man,  when  we  limit  life's  duration  to  this  visible  world. 


36  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

and  its  sphere  of  mutual  interest  to  commercial  busi- 
ness transactions,  however  large  a  good  may  be  realized 
under  these  conditions.  The  life  and  the  brotherhood 
must  be  seen  to  continue  independently  of  the  death  of 
the  body,  and  the  mutual  obligation  to  include  all 
spiritual  aids. 

If  man's  existence  is  seen  to  terminate  at  death,  it 
is  not  bad  reasoning — certainly  not  improbable  reason- 
ing, from  the  basis  of  the  average  attainment  in  human 
nature,  to  conclude  that  he  who  will  have  had  the  ad- 
vantage till  then,  will  have  had  a  real  gain — will  have 
best  served  his  own  interest.  Such  might  well  plead : 
What  could  it  matter  to  one  that  he  had  wronged  his 
brother,  if  he  should  have  no  existence  before  the  time 
should  come  at  which  he  would  be  sensible  of  the  injury 
that  the  wrong  had  been  to  himself  ?  All  the  past  is 
dropped  into  absolute  oblivion  at  the  end  of  conscious 
existence;  and  to  the  one  that  has  passed  that  point 
there  is  no  past  and  has  not  been.  What  once 
was,  to  him  who  is  not,  was  not.  Only  to  such  as  have 
adequate  conscious  existence  is  there  a  past — has  any- 
thing transpired.  That  these  conclusions  should  follow, 
then,  from  an  unbelief  in  a  proper  hereafter,  determin- 
ing man's  state  to  be  so  indistinguishable  from  that  con- 
sidered of  the  common  brute,  and  thus  justifying  him 
in  a  conduct  so  much  like  that  of  the  brute,  might  not 
appear  strange  or  surprising  to  such  as  have  prepared 
themselves  therefor  by  suitable  consideration  of  what 
such  unbelief,  if  common  and  natural  to  mankind, 
would  result  in,  or  would  have  resulted  in. 


TEMPOBAL  AID.  87 

That  the  native  humanities  in  man  are  under  all  con- 
ditions of  humanizing  tendencies,  is  plain  enough ;  but 
these,  it  will  be  remembered,  always  await  proper  mental 
stimuli,  and  what  large  generosities  are  to  be  found  among 
unbelievers  must  owe  their  origin  to  mental  stimuli  of 
requisite  insight  or  belief  at  sometime  having  occurred 
to  ancestry.  But,  always  unknown  to  himself,  in  its 
fullness,  man  is  measurably  conscious  of  his  immortal- 
ity, and  the  great  ideas  and  generous  impulses  incident 
to  its  awakening  power  and  tendency,  to  some  extent, 
have  followed  and  determined  the  better  sentiments  of 
his  heart.  And  is  it  then  not  apparent  that  the  spirit 
of  injury  and  overreaching  has  more  of  its  own  way 
by  whatever  measure  of  unbelief  in  a  common,  mutually- 
responsible  life  hereafter,  exists? 

The  thoughts  of  such  an  immense  future,  character- 
ized in  that  way,  are  necessarily  deterring  to  the  evil,  as 
well  as  elevating  to  the  good,  sentiments  of  life. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  then,  that  the  change  in  the 
habit  of  thought  most  needed  at  the  present  time,  is 
that  to  which  the  dissemination  of  right  views  of  im- 
mortality would  lead, — ^that  as  true  as  the  coming  to- 
morrow in  which  are  the  consequences  of  to-day,  comes 
the  day  beyond  the  nightfall  of  death  to  find  us  still 
there  and  in  the  society  and  life  claims  of  our  neighbors, 
however  different  from  this  in  material  and  aspect  that 
state  may  be. 

To  see  himself  identified  with  a  life  extending  inde- 
pendently of  the  flesh  into  the  state  or  states  beyond, 
there  to  recognize  his  full  self-hood  and  to  some  extent, 


38  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

at  least,  the  sensitive  companionship  of  those  who  were 
on  earth  associated  with  him  in  society,  is  what  no  one 
can  do  and  continue  his  interest  in  an  exclusive  selfish- 
ness or  in  any  callings  that  work  disadvantageously  to 
present  society.  Setting  aside  the  just  apprehension 
of  a  deeper  consciousness  of  the  equitable  awards  of 
his  Maker,  and  the  remembrance  that  others  may  have 
of  the  good  and  the  bad  of  his  previous  life,  the  ever- 
present  thought  of  that  great  outspreading  life  beyond 
the  grave,  with  its  inflowings  into  the  soul  from  those 
new  and  near  spiritual  surroundings  of  enchanting 
sceneries,  holy  lives,  and  divine  instructors,  also  would 
tend  to  speedily  expel  from  him  all  low  desires, — sepa- 
rating the  pure,  generous  humanity  from  the  base 
elements  of  rudimental  existence. 

And  to  the  achievement  of  this  much  needed  mental 
reform,  it  is  important  that  science  make  the  great  con- 
tribution that  with  an  insuppressible  tendency  at  every 
point  it  seems  ready  to  make.  Never  was  there  more 
conceded  from  science  to  immortality  than  now.  Every 
law  in  physical  nature,  relating  thereto,  that  has  been 
unraveled,  is  found  to  be  a  clue  leading  beyond  the 
threshold  of  the  spiritual.  And  the  time  may  well  be 
considered  as  quite  near  at  hand  when  the  lines  of  es- 
tablished science,  by  the  conceded  rules  of  knowledge, 
will  be  so  fully  and  plainly  carried  out  as  that  the  im- 
mortal land  will  be  as  confidently  regarded  as  is  a  neigh- 
boring continent  by  the  one  not  having  personally  resided 
thereon.  The  event  of  this  realization  is  justly  to  be 
regarded  as  the  main  great  crisis  in  the  mundane  great 


TEMPORAL  AID.  39 

history  of  the  race ;  not  because  it  shall  be  the  period 
of  the  greatest  mental  maturity  but  because  of  its  being 
the  accession  of  the  most  directly  elevating  motives  to 
life, — the  occasion  when  the  social  body  of  life  will  be 
put  in  the  most  direct  pursuit  of  its  highest  ends — to 
make  of  this  world  and  all  worlds  the  very  best  for  all. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

Immortality  in  History.  Evidence  that  the  Belief  in 
THE  Existence  of  Self  in  a  Eational  State  Beyond 
Death,  is  an  Elevating  Influence  on  the  Eace. 

THE  influence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  proper  future 
life  of  man,  on  the  progress  of  mankind,  has  but  few, 
though  important,  illustrations  in  history.  Prior  to  the 
enunciation  of  Christianity,  there  were  very  few  clear 
ideas  on  the  subject  popularly  entertained.  While  a 
few  of  the  most  gifted,  spiritually  and  intellectually,  ap- 
prehended somewhat  clearly  the  true  nature  of  the  state, 
the  masses  had  not  attained  to  the  maturity  in  which 
alone  the  appreciation  of  it  becomes  possible.  In  view 
of  the  law  of  growth  that  applies  to  the  aggregate  race 
of  man  the  same  as  it  does  to  the  individual,  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  expect  to  find  in  the  early  history  thereof, 
commonly  pervading  it,  the  high  order  of  thought 
properly  belonging  to  a  later  period,  and  which  is  better 
suited  to  subjects  of  such  a  character. 

In  the  natural  history  of  man,  more  than  in  the 
records  he  has  written  of  himself,  is  to  be  seen  the 
grade  of  thought  and  the  class  of  ideas  which  were 
evolved  from  his  primitive  life.  Although  this  theory 
will  hardly  provide  for  the  extraordinary  individuals 
that  at  times  are  seen  to  have  risen  in  life  and  thought 

40 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTOEY.  41 

far  above  the  surrounding  level,  by  whose  capacities  the 
Superintending  Life  above  erected  standards  of  princi- 
ples for  the  lives  below  to  ascend  upon  as  fast  as  men- 
tal and  moral  vitality  were  attainable. 

Only  in  instances  of  exceptionally  early  maturity,  does 
the  sentiment  of  immortality  manifest  itself  as  strong- 
ly in  youth  as  in  middle  life;  and  there  not  as 
strongly  as  in  well-preserved  old  age,  where,  with  a  good 
physical  condition,  the  higher  order  of  faculties  begin 
to  rise  into  supremacy,  and  the  more  far-reaching  con- 
ceptions gather  in  the  principles  of  faith  and  philos- 
ophy that  extend  beyond  the  restrictions  of  this  life  into 
the  life  beyond.  So,  likewise,  in  the  earlier  and  more 
physical  states  of  the  race,  we  would  expect  to  find  gen- 
erally a  smaller  development  of  spiritual  sense,  and  to 
see  it  both  weaker  in  its  impression  upon  life  and  less 
perfectly  apprehending  principles  of  such  a  nature. 

In  the  great  antiquity,  back  of  historic  times,  it  is 
difficult  to  find  what  were  the  particular  thoughts  of  the 
people  on  the  great  problem  of  the  future  state.  That  our 
remote  ancestry  of  those  times  thought  upon  it,  is  plain 
enough  every  way,  but  what  form  their  speculations  took 
in  detail,  we  have  not  the  means  to  determine.  The  in- 
tellectual world  is  seen  to  have  been  quite  stationary 
during  many  centuries  from  the  time  history  was  first 
written,  and  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  during 
as  many  centuries  next  preceding,  the  doctrines  of 
future  life  were  quite  the  same  as  at  the  time  they  began 
to  be  put  on  record ;  and  we  would  expect  to  find  them 


42  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

all  the  time  growing  less  defined  while  following  the 
course  of  time  backward. 

ERAS    OF    SPECIAL    ATTAINMENTS. 

However,  evidences  are  being  noted  of  there  being 
periodicity  in  the  course  of  the  development  of  the 
race, — that  there  are  intellectual  and  inspirational  eras, 
— ^that  with  a  sort  of  tidal  action,  at  times  intelligence, 
or  some  form  of  it,  fluctuates  above  its  natural  level ; 
so  that  we  have  come  to  speak  of  an  age  of  historians, 
an  age  of  poets,  an  age  of  science,  and  so  on.  And  that 
inspirational  periods  are  of  like  occurrence  would  natu- 
rally follow.  And  from  this,  taken  with  the  fact  that  a 
basic  sameness  in  the  original  religions  is  from  nearly 
all  standpoints  now  being  seen,  belief  is  obtaining  with 
some  of  the  best  philologists  (who  are  best  qualified  to 
determine),  that  all  present  forms  of  religion  originated 
in  one  inspirational  era,  in  a  time  perhaps  deeply 
buried  in  the  unknown  past.  However,  investigation 
has  not  gone  far  enough  to  do  away  with  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  this. 

But  while  there  is  no  uniformity  of  conclusion  in  detail 
as  to  how  the  future  life  was  regarded  by  the  adherents 
of  the  great  religions  in  the  limits  of  the  historic  period, 
setting  aside  extremists,  whose  special  claims  may  not 
be  considered  in  the  limits  of  this  brief  chapter,  the 
teachings  may  be  classified  into  immortality  proper, 
apotheosis  and  metempsychosis.  But  neither,  purely 
so.  They  were  more  or  less  confounded  with  each 
other;   showing  unsettled  thought  on  the  subject. 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  43 

In  the  great  divisions  of  Egypt  and  India,  metemp- 
sychosis— the  transmigration  of  the  soul — was  the  uni- 
versally accepted  belief.  In  Chaldea,  the  sentiment  of 
future  life  was  weak,  but  there  is  no  clear  proof  of 
transmigration  having  found  favor  with  them,  beyond  a 
few  slight  innovations.  The  Chaldean  mind  fluctuated 
between  a  proper  immortality  and  a  deification  of  at 
least  mortals  of  note. 

The  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  as  the  abode  of 
spirits,  which  also  is  seen  to  have  been  originally  prac- 
ticed in  Egypt  and  India,  prevailed  to  the  last  with  the 
Chaldeans.  These  spirits  were  graded  as  the  heavenly 
bodies  themselves  were — from  omnipotence,  as  typified 
by  the  sun,  down  to  capacities  little  above  the  grade  of 
mortals,  as  typified  by  diminutive  stars.  Out  of  this 
doctrine  grew  the  doctrine  of  apotheosis  (the  translation 
of  mortals  into  demigods  and  gods),  probably  near  the 
time  that  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  took  its  origin. 
Both  doctrines  became  enlarged  into  disgusting  details, 
in  later  years.  About  the  time  that  it  began  to  be 
believed  that  Bel,  or  Baal,  the  spirit  of  the  sun,  was  an 
earthly  prince  translated  into  the  heavens  to  become 
the  spirit  of  the  monarch  of  the  day,  gods,  heroes  and 
men  began  to  be  identified  with  the  forms  of  the  lower 
animals. 

Believing  that  a  human  soul,  distinguished  among  his 
kind,  might  rise  to  the  eminence  of  the  gods  in  the 
heavens,  would  be  a  natural  starting  point  for  the 
inquiry.  What,  then,  becomes  of  the  souls  of  the  rest  of 
mankind  ?     And  it  is  among  this  class  of  believers  that 


44  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

we  find  the  first  approach  toward  proper  conceptions  of 
immortality. 

Among  the  Chaldeans,  in  the  Hebrew  branch,  we  find 
the  first  account  of  spiritual  beings, — angels, — seen  in 
human  form.  As  to  where  was  their  place  and  what 
was  their  form,  when  disappearing  from  human  view, 
they  seem  to  have  had  nothing  more  definite  than  the 
viewless  air  in  its  upper  regions — toward  or  among  the 
stars,  in  ethereal  abodes,  perhaps  well  enough  suited  to 
continue  the  general  human  shape.  That  these  angels 
were  beheved  to  be  the  souls  of  ordinary  mortals,  is  not 
probable,  though  their  relation  with  mortals,  and  per- 
haps also  their  mortal  origin,  was  fully  believed.  But 
that  the  souls  of  common  mankind  remained  in  more 
humble  locations,  near  the  earth  or  in  some  mystical 
region  under  the  earth,  would  be  in  harmony  with  the 
opinion  of  the  average  Hebrew,  from  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham to  the  carrying  away  in  the  Chaldean  captivity. 

The  writer  of  Genesis  represents  the  patriarchs  as 
being  at  death  gathered  to  their  people  (xxv:  8; 
XXXV :  29;  xlix:  33),  though  the  burial  place  of 
Abraham  was  far  from  that  of  his  fathers.  The  writer 
of  the  First  Book  of  Kings,  with  a  change  in  the  form 
of  language,  represents  essentially  the  same  thought  in 
reference  to  the  death  of  David  and  Solomon,  many 
years  later.  They  slept  with  their  fathers  (ii:  10; 
xi :  43),  though  David's  burial  was  not  with  his  fathers. 
This  return  to  their  people,  which  was  a  hope  with  them 
for  centuries  at  least,  extending  back  to  the  days  of 
Abraham,  who  probably  in  faith  differed  little  from  his 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTOEY.  45 

fathers,  was  more  than  the  commingling  of  bodily  dust. 
It  was  a  union  of  the  self  of  one  with  the  selves  of 
the  others,  whatever  the  bodily  appointments  might  have 
been  expected  to  be.  Jacob  expected  to  go  down  to  the 
grave  (sheol — state  of  the  departed)  unto  his  son  (Gen. 
xxxvii :  35),  whom  he  believed  to  have  been  devoured  by 
wild  beasts.  David,  in  like  faith,  dried  his  tears  in  the 
expectation  of  some  day  going  to  his  dearly  beloved 
child  (II  Sam.  xii:  23). 

While  little  specific  reference  to  a  future  life  is  made 
in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  the  omission  may  be 
quite  easily  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  their 
view  of  it,  such  as  it  was,  was  so  well  known  as  not 
to  need  rehearsing.  In  our  thoughtful  day,  who,  in  writ- 
ing a  history  of  the  State  or  of  the  Church,  would  think 
to  insert,  extensively,,  our  speculations  of  future  life  ? 
It  is  only  in  the  history  of  a  dogma  that  systematic 
statements  thereof  are  likely  to  occur. 

While,  as  already  observed,  in  ancient  Chaldea,  the 
mother  of  Jewry,  the  sentiment  of  the  future  life  was 
weak,  yet  in  Jewry  it  had  gained  strength, — whether 
much  more  of  clearness  or  not.  Where  we  find  abundant 
references  to  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  the  angels  of 
the  Lord,  in  places  where  spiritual  beings  alone  could  be 
referred  to,  and  where  necromancy,  all  about,  was  suffi- 
ciently credited  as  a  reality  to  warrant  Saul,  by  means 
of  it,  to  evoke  the  spirit  of  Samuel  (I  Samuel  xxviii: 
10),  the  sentiment  of  a  future  existence  was  evidently 
strong  enough  to  materially  modify  the  habits  of  the 
people. 


46  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

The  most  perfect  form  of  the  doctrine,  then,  at  the 
time  extant,  we  find  to  have  been  in  the  minds  of  this 
people.  Though  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  W8,s 
strong  in  Egypt,  and  they  were  in  close  contact  with 
that  people  for  a  score  of  centuries,  and  until  a  short 
time  before  our  era,  they  imbibed  little  of  it. 

They  may  not  have  believed  in  the  endless  continu- 
ance of  the  human  soul,  but  so  long  as  it  existed  it  was 
its  own  human  self,  and  was  never  transformed  into  a 
brute,  nor  reinvolved  in  flesh  of  any  kind,  after  its  de- 
parture from  the  present  embodiment.  And,  upon  the 
whole,  their  belief  in  respect  to  future  life  was  a  stimu- 
lant to  the  higher  part  of  their  nature,  a  fact  comport- 
ing well  with  their  general  superiority  as  a  people. 

RELATIVE  VALUE    OF    THE    SEVERAL    VIEWS    OF   FUTURE  LIFE. 

To  expect  a  continuance  of  life  in  a  state  beyond 
death,  though  with  many  distortions  of  ignorance  and 
perverted  passion  characterizing  the  thought,  is  a  strong 
incentive  to  the  mind,  and  probably  in  all  cases  some 
advantage  to  life.  To  live  at  all,  is  a  thought  of  grave 
influence ;  but  to  what  extent  beyond  the  moderation  of 
passion  affected  by  it,  the  doctrine  of  transmigration 
may  stimulate  to  any  good,  is  not  plain.  What  one's 
sensibilities  would  be  when  transferred  into  an  ox,  croc- 
odile, serpent  or  insect,  could  not  be  very  definitely  imag- 
ined, but  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  prospect  would  be 
depressing  to  all  that  self  appreciation  so  necessary  to 
progress. 

One  might  have  the  assurance  of  being  personally 


IMMORTALITY  IN   HISTOEY.  47 

Gxempt  from  such  a  fate,  but,  while  believing  in  it,  would 
necessarily  be  affected  by  contemplating  it  in  his  sur- 
roundings. The  melancholy  state  of  the  unfortunates 
moving  about  him  in  lower  animal  forms,  would  im- 
press him  correspondingly.  These  horrid  tombs  of 
gross  flesh,  incarcerating  loved  ones,  would  imprison 
his  own  life  in  overpowering  gloom  under  which 
no  aspirations  toward  proper  attainments  could  form. 
For  fear  of  like  consequences  he  would  hardly  dare  to 
descend  into  what  he  would  regard  as  vice,  but  with  the 
incubus  of  that  spectacle  of  misery  ever  bearing  down 
on  him,  he  could  not  well  rise  to  the  use  of  the  finer 
sentiments  that  characterize  the  greater  and  happier 
people  of  the  world.  History  corroborates  this  view  of 
the  case.  Where  those  religious  principles  have  held  sway, 
the  cloud  of  mental  night  has  hung.  And  ages  of  time 
have  wrought  no  perceptible  improvement.  They  have 
long  years  ago  attained  to  all  that  their  religion  can  do 
for  man.  The  soul  of  a  people  cannot  rise  above  the 
provisions  of  its  religion. 

Greece  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  oldest  of  Euro- 
pean nations  of  civilized  attainments,  and  for  wealth  of 
intellect,  from  the  time  of  Homer  to  Aristotle,  was  un- 
surpassed by  any  nation  in  the  world.  The  religion  of 
that  great  people  was  a  wonderful  mixture  from  Asia, 
Egypt,  and  primitive  European  tribes.  In  the  main 
they  were  very  tolerant ;  and  by  the  intellectual  center 
they  constituted,  readily  drew  to  themselves  the  more 
rational  types  of  the  several  great  religions.  But  their 
fine  poetic  nature  expanded  their  religious  thought  into 


48  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

an  indefinable  tissue  of  myth.  They  believed  in  trans- 
migration, with  some  modification  by  the  doctrine  of 
apotheosis,  which  was  prevalent  with  the  native  barba- 
rian Greeks,  and  added  to  by  colonization  from  Asia, 
perhaps  Phoenicia.  The  element  of  transmigration, 
together  with  their  mystic  ceremonies,  was  brought  from 
Egypt.  These  two  main  doctrines  of  immortality, 
apotheosis  and  transmigration,  brought  together  in  the 
great  mind  of  the  Greek,  resulted  in  something  far 
different  from,  and  superior  to,  either,  as  previously 
known. 

The  early  superiority  of  the  Greeks,  however,  may 
have  been  as  much  due  to  a  favorable  mixture  of  races 
as  to  anything  that  their  yet  incomplete  religion  could 
have  done  for  them.  But  proper  sentiments  of  religion 
can  lead  to  high  attainments  beyond  all  other  motives. 
It  is,  then,  the  most  exalted,  and  therefore  the  most  ex- 
alting, sentiment  of  life,  and  the  subsequent  temporary 
greatness  of  that  people  must  have  largely  depended  on 
their  superior  attainments  in  this  direction. 

The  Greeks  were  lovers  of  mystery,  but  at  the  same 
time  eagerly  sought  to  verify  everything  by  the  senses. 
Hence,  to  them,  the  disembodied  soul  was  still  material. 
<*  It  is  exhaled  with  the  dying  breath,  or  issues  through 
the  warrior's  wounds.  The  sword  passes  through  its 
uninjured  form  as  through  the  air.  It  is  to  the  body 
what  a  dream  is  to  waking  action.  Eetaining  the  shape, 
\ineaments  and  motion  the  man  had  in  life,  it  is  im- 
mediately recognized  upon  appearing"  (The  Doctrine  of 
Future  Life. — Alger,  p.  175).     As  bodily  substance  was 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  49 

of  physical  atoms,  the  soul  was  of  divine  atoms.  Being 
itself  material,  though  divine,  it  often  was  materially 
affected  by  other  bodily  conditions,  and  even  after  death, 
by  perhaps  no  choice  of  its  own,  might  become  entangled 
with  the  living  body  of  another  soul  and  thus  be  re-ad- 
mitted to  this  world  by  supervention  of  the  native  occu- 
pant and  usurping  the  senses  of  that  body.  This  might 
be  of  a  man  or  of  a  lower  animal. 

This  was  essentially  the  demonology  of  the  Greeks. 
Their  transmigration  was,  however,  more  of  the  nature 
of  a  succession  of  human  bodily  existences  than  what  is 
properly  known  as  transmigration — an  indiscriminate 
transfer  into  the  bodies  of  all  orders  of  animal  life — and 
was  quite  commonly  looked  upon  as  a  favor.  Pythag- 
oras, bom  five  hundred  and  eighty  years  B.  C,  the 
first  of  the  great  sages  of  Greece,  was  quite  of  the  Egyp- 
tian order  of  transmigrationists.  He  not  only  pretended 
to  recollect  his  adventures  in  previous  lives,  even  to  the 
name  and  the  shield  he  bore  at  the  siege  of  Troy,  but 
to  recognize,  in  the  piteous  howls  of  a  dog  whom  his 
master  was  beating,  the  cries  of  a  dear  friend  who  had 
died  years  before.  He  was,  however,  more  of  an  agi- 
tator of  a  philosophy  than  a  systematic  philosopher,, 
and  has  transmitted  his  views  only  by  the  reports  that 
contemporaries  have  made  of  him.  The  statements  re- 
ferred to  sufficiently  indicate  the  visionary  character  of 
the  man. 

Plato,  who  was  less  influential  with  his  contempora- 
ries than  Pythagoras  with  his,  yet  incomparably  the 
better  philosopher,  frequently  made   use   of   language 
4 


50  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

which,  if  used  prosaically,  would  necessarily  commit 
him  to  the  same  doctrine  in  essentials.  Yet,  while  being 
a  well  understood  believer  in  immortality,  his  position 
in  respect  to  transmigration  of  the  soul  is  not  taken  with 
sufficient  clearness  to  obviate  doubt.  Though  it  is 
claimed  that  "  the  conception  of  the  metempsychosis  is 
so  closely  interwoven  both  with  his  physical  system  and 
with  his  ethical  as  to  justify  the  conviction  that  Plato 
looked  upon  it  as  legitimate  and  valid,  and  not  as  merely 
a  figurative  exposition  of  the  soul's  life  after  death" 
(The  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  p.  190). 

In  brief,  then,  we  note  the  Greek  doctrine  of  a  future 
life  to  have  had  this  advantage  over  that  of  the  Asiatic 
and  African  transmigrationists :  It  regarded  the  sub- 
stance of  the  soul  as  being  divine  and  deific,  not  in  the 
fact  that  it  originated  from,  and  was  re-absorbed  into,  the 
Supreme  Spirit,  but  it  was  this  in  its  separate  individu- 
ality. Added  to  the  repeated  bodily  existences  through 
Which  the  soul  might  be  called  to  traverse,  its  normal 
destiny,  by  its  deific  nature,  was  a  seat  among  the  gods. 

The  principles  which  were  lacking  in  the  Greek  doc- 
trine of  a  future  life,  in  making  it  a  permanently  elevat- 
ing power  to  mankind,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  following  facts : 
By  the  nature  of  their  theology,  the  life  of  the  soul 
might  not  be  endless ;  the  gods  themselves  were  sub- 
ject to  mutilations  and  transformations,  both  of  body 
and  of  estate,  and  in  none  of  these  respects  had  they 
necessarily  endless  life;  the  individual  soul,  in  rising 
toward  the  region  or  state  of  the  gods,  was  subject  to 
such  eccentric  transformations  as  to  destroy,  in  thought- 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  51 

ful  people,  all  certainty  as  to  the  desirableness  of  future 
existence;  the  bond  of  fraternal  sympathy  between 
souls  was  not  universal,  nor  necessarily  enduring. 
These  negatives  one  needs  but  to  read  to  realize  the  de- 
pressing influence  they  necessarily  would  exert  on  human 
ambition  after  the  poetry  in  them  had  ceased  its  effect. 
Such  conceptions  of  the  future — ultimate  failure  of  life's 
loftiest  aim  of  incessantly  advancing  toward  higher 
attainments,  and  the  possible  separation  of  the  bond  of 
interest  that  holds  in  affectionate  consideration  every 
man  as  being  a  brother — are  unfitting  to  intelligent 
life,  for  the  rugged  labor  necessary  to  even  sustain  a 
high  order  of  attainments ;  while  to  further  climbing 
they  remove  the  main  incentive. 

It  is  not  here  assumed  that  there  were  no  principles 
at  fault  besides  their  doctrine  of  future  life,  which  con- 
tributed to  the  failure  of  Greek  civilization.  They  were 
numerous,  but  mainly  in  this  feature  of  their  religion. 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how,  with  proper  conceptions  of 
Deity,  human  fraternity  and  immortality,  a  people  could 
retrograde  in  civilization !  Eight  conceptions  of  these 
must  be  abandoned  before  the  soul  can  return  to  lower 
levels.  In  them  are  provided  all  virtues  requisite  for 
its  ceaseless  progress.  That  there  is  to  be  seen  higher 
civilization  consequent  upon  the  introduction  of  higher 
ideas  of  immortality,  is  illustrated  in  this  instance  of 
Greece,  whose  theology  differed  little  from  that  of 
Egypt,  and  was  little  superior  to  that  of  India,  but  whose 
theory  of  future  life  was  above  them  both,  in  the  full 
measure  that  it  excelled  them  in  intelligence  and  in 


52  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

moral  refinement.  That  the  higher  view  of  future  life 
occasioned  the  superior  civilization,  rather  than  con- 
trariwise, may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  as  with  all 
peoples  of  their  time,  their  instruction  was  chiefly  de- 
rived from  their  religious  institutions,  philosophy  and 
religion  being  essentially  one ;  that  the  civil  forms  of 
government  of  the  two  blended  nations  were  quite  sim- 
ilar and  would  have  required  little  alteration  by  the 
union.  Hence,  necessarily,  the  change  that  first  oc- 
curred must  have  been  in  their  religion,  wherein  the 
only  change  of  importance  was  in  their  doctrine  of 
future  life ;  resulting  in  essentially  that  form  of  it  which 
prevailed  with  them  through  the  entire  period  of  their  his- 
tory from  Socrates  down.  The  doctrine  of  future  life 
changed  but  little  in  that  time,  while  the  civilization 
ceased  not  to  grow  in  conformity  thereto.  And  it 
were  not  incredible  that  their  civilization  might  have 
been  prolonged  and  still  further  developed,  if  their  re- 
ligious standard  had  been  of  the  requisite  higher  order, 
and  embraced  the  more  perfect  views  of  the  future 
state.  Unlike  the  Christian  standard,  there  was  little 
of  it  which  was  above  the  easy  conformity  of  the  av- 
erage Greek  citizen  of  their  best  age ;  while  the  outlook 
of  the  future  had  little  to  stimulate  enterprise.  At  the 
summit  there  was  an  end  of  climbing,  and  the  next 
movement  was  necessarily  a  descent. 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  VIEW. 

Of  the  influence  of  the  Christian  doctrine  of  future 
life,  we  may  judge  in  part  by  the  peoples  who  have  re- 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  53 

ceived  it  in  its  purity,  and  so  retained  it  for  at  least 
some  generations.  And  here  it  is  unsafe,  as  many  have 
done,  to  include  under  Christianity  all  who  have  set 
claim  to  its  name.  The  large  order  of  people,  headed 
by  the  pope  in  Kome,  is  the  result  of  a  compromise  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  early  Christian  emperors,  with 
heathenism,  by  which  was  left  out  much  that  was  Chris- 
tian and  incorporated  largely  of  what  was  only  pagan, 
thus  bringing  the  two  factions  together  under  the  spe- 
cious name,  The  Christian  Church.  The  doctrine  of 
future  life,  in  these  changes,  lost  nearly  all  resemblance 
to  its  original  self.  The  soul  was  left  immortal,  and, 
if  at  death  it  had  been  sound  in  the  prescribed  faith  of 
the  Church,  was  admitted  into  a  Paradise  of  unending 
happiness;  but  if  not  thus  sound,  was  at  the  world's 
general  judgment  day  hurled  into  an  abyss  of  fire,  of 
varied  and  unending  torments.  And  although  this  doc- 
trine was  specially  emphasized,  if  not  introduced,  from 
considerations  of  the  good  of  mankind,  in  rendering  the 
Church  more  efficient  in  its  saving  work,  under  its  most 
strenuous  and  terrible  advocacy  and  its  enforcement 
by  spiritual  anathemas  and  inquisitorial  tortures,  the 
Christian  world  sank  down  to  its  lowest  ebb  of  degrada- 
tion. The  decline  was  not  wholly  owing  to  this  error 
concerning  future  life,  though  it  visibly  became  the 
chief  means  of  that  most  inhuman  terrorism  under 
which,  personal  worth  becoming  generally  powerless, 
the  popular  mind  and  heart  shrank  away. 

Those    centuries  of   so-called  Christian  rule,  during 
which  the  world  was  shrouded  in  a  night  equally  dark 


54  o'ONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

as  that  of  any  pagan  age   in   the   historic   period   of 
Europe   or   Asia,    must   not   be   confounded  with  the 
Christianity  of  the  New   Testament.    A  failure  to  make 
this  discrimination   is   to   be    untrue   to    science   and 
unjust  to  the  most  beneficent  cause  instituted  for  man- 
kind.    Protestantism  directed  its  reform  chiefly  at  Kom- 
ish  usurpations,  interfering  little   with  doctrinal  prin- 
ciples.     While   it   did   not   correct   the  Komish  error 
i3oncerning    future    life,    it   yet    made   the    correction 
possible  by  laying  liberally  the  foundation  for  the  free- 
dom of  inquiry.     And  out  of  that  achieved  liberty  of 
the  investigation  of  the  original  authorities,   souls  for 
whom  it  was  natural   soon  came  to  believe  more  in  har- 
mony with  the  manifest  belief  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 
The  doctrine  of  future  life,  as  developed  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  was  that  the  personal  self  continued  be- 
yond death.     Eather,  it  taught  that  death  was  only  the 
dissolution  of  the  i)hysical  body — the  physical  organism 
comprising  the  senses  which  identified  the  proper  self 
with  this  rudimental    existence.     Its    dissolution   was 
therefore  of  trifling  importance  as  compared  with  the 
ordinary  conception  of  death.     And  beyond  the  incur- 
rence of  a  measure  of  suffering  likely  to  attend  upon  it, 
and  perhaps  the  regret  at  going  out  from  the  visible 
presence  of  things  and  persons  dearly  loved  in  this  state, 
there  was  nothing  unloved  or  unwelcomed  in  the  great 
but  natural  change.     Death  was  scarcely  unlike  when, 
among  friends  and  tender  dependent  ones,  one   is  on 
the  eve  of  embarking  on  a  final  voyage  to  a  chosen 
home  among  loved  ones  far  away.     He  has  no  doubt 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  55 

about  the  successful  arrival  abroad ;  and  there  is  an- 
ticipated nothing  unpleasant  in  the  passage  itself — per- 
haps a  much-needed  rest — but  his  heart  aches  with 
yearning  for  the  ones  to  be  left.  He  foresees  their 
mourning  for  him,  and  their  sighing  for  the  aids  he 
could  render  them.  Besides  the  strong  inducements  of 
this  character  to  tarry,  there  was  with  this  people  gen- 
erally a  fevered  anxiety  to  depart  and  live  farther  from 
sin  and  in  a  more  congenial  world,  and  to  meet  with 
the  many  loved  ones  watching  and  waiting  their  arrival 
on  the  immortal  land.  St.  Paul  but  speaks  for  the 
whole  Apostolic  Church  when  he  says :  "  I  am  in  a 
strait  betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better :  Nevertheless  to 
abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for  you"  (Phil,  i:  23, 
24). 

The  Apostolic  Christian  was  not  disposed  to  selfishly 
withdraw  from  the  world  that  needed  him,  though  stay- 
ing were  manifold  suffering.  But  all  things  being  duly 
ready  for  the  departure,  and  realizing  that  "  all  whom 
he  stayed  for  were  taken  forever, "  he  would  accept  his 
release  with  gratitude — with  the  gladness  which  the 
homesick  child  experiences  when  receiving  the  parental 
message  to  "  pack  up  at  once  and  come. " 

Hardly  a  clue  is  given  of  what  may  have  been  their 
conception  relative  to  the  location  and  mode  of  existence 
in  the  immortal  state.  Judgment  of  it  is  formed  rather 
by  the  occurrences  which  the  apostles  put  on  record 
than  by  the  oral  teachings  which  they  left  us.  The 
Savior's  references  to  the  character  of  the  future  life 


56  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

are  few,  but  wonderfully  comprehensive  and  clear.  His 
reply  to  the  argument  of  the  Sadducees,  referring  to 
the  woman  who  successively  had  the  seven  brothers  in 
marriage,  must  be  taken  as  his  conception  of  that  state, 
as  to  its  general  character.  It  would  appear  therefrom 
that  the  condition  of  life  in  that  world  would  no  longer 
require  betrothals  after  the  custom  prescribed  by  Moses, 
of  which  was  this  unjust  law  requiring  the  brother  to 
marry  the  widow  of  a  deceased  brother,  possibly  against 
the  choice  of  both.  However,  it  is  not  a  necessary  in- 
ference of  the  passage  that  the  conjugal  tie,  which  refers 
to  a  mental  and  moral  as  well  as  a  physical  distinction 
of  the  race,  shall  not  continue  in  the  immortal  exist- 
ence. The  reply  is,  however,  an  affirmation  of  the  soul's 
immortality.  "Neither  can  they  die  any  more"  (Luke, 
XX :  27,  28).  And  as  to  the  rank  of  life,  he  declares 
them  equal  unto  the  angels  and  descendants  from  God, 
being  children  of  the  resurrection.  Being  worthy  of 
endless  life  after  the  death  of  the  body,  was  proof  that 
they  were  of  divine  substance,  which  children  of  the 
Deity  alone  possessed. 

Their  equality  with  the  angels  was  inferable  from 
the  appearance  of  angels  being  so  much  in  the  likeness 
of  men  as  to  be  commonly  mistaken  for  them.  The 
mortal  origin  of  the  angels  may  well  be  concluded  from 
this  same  comprehensive  reply.  The  angels  and  the 
souls  of  men  are  equals,  in  the  sense  that  all  human 
beings  are  equals.  The  souls  of  men  being  immortals — 
worthy  of  being  raised — are  God's  children,  as  the 
angels  among  all  Jews  were  believed  to  be,  and  hence, 


IMMORTALITY  IN  HISTORY.  57 

being  essentially  the  same,  a  sameness  of  previous  state 
is  not  only  possible  but  probable. 

Another  instance  of  the  Master's  allusions  to  this 
subject  is  in  his  reference  to  his  Father's  house  of  many 
mansions  (John,  xiv:  2,  3).  By  this  he  argues  the 
grouping  of  society  by  special  friendships,  not  unlike  in 
this  life  where  the  social  spirit  centers  in  races,  nations, 
neighborhoods  and  families.  And  does  this  mean  all  ? 
Does  it  mean  races,  nations,  and  families  only  ?  Does 
it  not  mean  regions,  perhaps  worlds,  in  some  way  con- 
sistent with  the  elements  constituting  a  spiritual  uni- 
verse ?  Does  it  not  mean,  though  somewhat  remotely, 
scenery  of  forms  and  movements,  animate  and  inani- 
mate, lights,  shadows  and  colors,  the  eternal  counter- 
part of  the  mind,  and  from  which  alone  the  immortal 
senses  must  feed  the  mind  ?  To  reason  these  out  of 
existence  would  be  to  reason  sanity  and  entity  out  of 
the  soul  itself. 

The  Great  Teacher  truly  has  left  us  only  few  words,  but 
many  gracious  and  most  satisfying  thoughts,  in  respect 
to  the  future  life.  How  much  the  immediate  disciples 
received  of  the  import  of  these  brief  words  we  know 
not ;  but  they  saw  enough  to  create  a  strong  preference 
for  "  the  world  to  come, "  and  to  induce  them  to  live  in 
accordance  with  the  highest  morality,  to  practice 
charity  toward  even  their  enemies,  and  to  make  the 
salvation  of  their  fellow  beings  their  central  purpose  of 
life. 

And  it  here  only  remains  to  be  said,  that  though  too 
soon  after  the  Master's  departure  this  good  element  of 


58  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

faith  was  overpowered  by  the  darkness  of  the  times 
and  the  light  of  the  world  went  under  eclipse,  during 
its  prevalence  there  was  attained  by  its  believers  the 
highest  life  known  to  mankind.  And  always  where  the 
Bible  became  accessible  to  the  people,  the  highest 
order  of  society  prevailed. 

How  much  of  its  good  influence  has  been  due  to  its 
superior  doctrine  of  future  life  may  be  approximately 
estimated  by  the  common  stress  placed  by  believers  on 
the  hope  of  the  "  home  in  heaven, "  attainable  by  prac- 
ticing the  faith  and  the  love  of  Jesus.  But  much  of 
the  true  Christian  life  went  out  when  its  doctrine  of  im- 
mortality suffered  its  pagan  mutilations,  excluding 
after  death  a  large  part  of  the  race  from  attaining  ref- 
ormation and  fellowship  with  the  higher  life ;  thus  cut- 
ting off  their  own  hope  and  the  hope  of  their  friends  in 
them.  For  the  event  of  such  a  separation  and  loss,  it 
was  necessary  to  somewhat  harden  the  heart  against 
the  unregenerate  class,  and  against  great  fondness  for 
any,  even  for  children,  as  upon  the  contingency  of  their 
final  failure  to  gain  heaven,  a  great  love  for  them  might 
be  a  great  and  permanent  pain. 

Mainly  to  this  sad  innovation  of  the  New  Testament 
doctrine  of  future  life  must  be  attributed  the  outrages 
on  mankind  instigated  by  the  Church,  as  aggressions 
and  usurpations  are  not  known  to  have  found  favor 
with  the  adherents  to  the  simple  teaching  of  Christ  on 
the  subject,  in  any  age. 

It  will  be  recognized  that  that  doctrine  of  future  life 
in  which  man  views,  with  the  most  perfect  realization, 


IMMORTALITY    IN    HISTOEY.  59 

his  conscious  self-hood  beyond  death  in  a  world  as  real 
as  the  one  he  now  lives  in,  ever  attended  by  his  fellow 
beings  whose  well-being  is  his  own  interest,  is  the  best 
suited  to  the  progress  of  the  race,  and  is  fairly  to  be  re- 
garded as  indispensable.  And  so,  to  the  evidence  of 
science,  history  adds  its  confirmations  of  the  world's 
great  need  of  a  more  substantial  hope  of  future  life  em- 
bodying the  conditions  referred  to. 


CHAPTEE  III. 

An  Important  Need  of  the  Church  is  the  Ability  to 
Place  More  Emphasis  on  the  Future  Life. 

It  is,  by  many  devout  people,  believed  that  the 
church  is  not  making  the  progress  in  arresting  evil  that 
it  should,   considering  its  social  and  civil  advantages. 

And  allowing  on  account  of  impatient  temperaments,  a 
fair  deduction  from  this  claim,  and  rejoicing  too,  that 
there  is  in  the  world  a  power  doing  as  much  for  the 
welfare  of  mankind  as  the  church  with  all  its  defects  is 
plainly  doing,  the  question  yet  recurs :  Is  that  great 
and  invaluable  body  actually  at  its  best,  with  the  ad- 
vantage of  position  that  it  holds  ? 

Admitting  that  in  the  development  of  man's  moral 
nature  the  process  is  necessarily  slow,  that  there  is  so 
large  a' part  of  the  great  body  of  the  race  so  largely  an- 
imal as  that  but  slight  impressions  can  be  made  by  the 
best  of  appliances,  and  remembering  how  soon  the 
powerful  light  of  the  personal  Master  was  swallowed  up 
by  the  same  great  darkness,  still  the  lack  of  success  is 
not  wholly  explained.  It  does  not  explain  why  so  large 
an  intelligence,  extending  throughout  the  enlightened 
world,  continues  to  have  so  little  effect  upon  the  selfish 
motives ;  that  so  many  evils  which  are  fully  seen  in 

60 


NEED    OF    THE    CHURCH.  61 

their  enormity  are  still  finding  tolerance  by  so  many 
even  of  church  relations. 

Eeally,  one  cannot  help  feeling  that  there  is  some- 
thing of  great  importance  being  overlooked.  There  is 
too  wide  a  difference  between  man's  knowledge  of  the 
moral  law  and  his  fulfillment  of  its  requirements,  argu- 
ing that  a  much  wanted  motive  of  some  kind  is  absent. 
There  is  needed  the  force  of  principle  or  conception  of 
truth,  relating  to  the  interest  of  life,  to  bring  man's 
moral  and  spiritual  nature  up  nearer  abreast  with  his 
knowledge  of  right.  It  is  probable  that  we  have  in  the 
New  Testament  the  whole  system  of  moral  uprightness 
necessary  to  man's  happiness,  taught  and  simplified 
down  to  the  easy  comprehension  of  any  ordinary  mind ; 
and  yet  all  the  appeals  to  the  most  fearful  torments 
after  death  by  one  class,  and  the  most  powerful  induce- 
ments of  heaven  by  another  class,  of  believers,  together 
with  the  ever  impressive  picture  of  the  loving,  self-deny- 
ing Jesus  held  steadily  forth  by  all  classes  of  Christians, 
have  not  succeeded  in  holding  the  church  fellowship, 
in  any  branch  of  it — conservative  or  liberal — up  to  the 
standard  of  rectitude  and  happiness  assigned  to  it  in 
primitive  times  by  even  its  enemies !  Besides,  the 
primitive  church,  as  a  class,  exhibited  a  willingness, 
nay  a  happiness,  in  incurring  bodily  and  social  discom- 
fiture, even  to  severe  suffering,  for  the  sake  of  the 
welfare  of  Christianity,  known  to  extremely  few  believers 
of  to-day.  They  were  at  the  same  time  as  attentive  to 
temporal  duty,  practicing  the  usual  arts  and  trades  of 
life,  when  permitted  to  do  so,  as  Christians  at  the  pres- 


62  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

ent  time.  They  were  "  diligent  in  business,  fervent  in 
spirit,  serving  the  Lord."  They  had  no  less  love  for 
this  temporal  world,  only  they  loved  the  world  to  come 
much  more ;  and  first  of  all  sought  to  shape  their  lives 
in  harmony  with  the  requirements  of  that  world.  By 
this  understanding,  the  world  to  come,  as  compared 
with  this  world,  was  the  proper  state  and  home  for  the 
soul.  This  present  was  every  way  temporary,  and 
subordinate  to  the  future.  It  could  then  with  little  sac- 
rifice be  given  up.  They  had  a  satisfactory  knowledge  of 
the  Master  and  the  dear  departed  in  that  other  world,  and 
knew  him  to  be  requiring  of  themselves  as  he  did  when 
on  earth.  His  promise  they  believed — ^that  he  would  be 
with  them  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.  He 
was  as  ever  their  loving  Master — their  Great  High 
Priest.  He  was  the  ordained  of  God,  and  enthroned  in 
life  above  them — the  all-sufficient  friend  and  Savior  of 
themselves  and  theirs. 

As  may  be  easily  seen,  to  have  a  thorough  realiza- 
tion of  these  things,  rendered  their  self-denial  as  to 
things  in  this  life  very  natural  and  easy.  To  dispense 
with  that  which  was  in  the  way  of  the  better — the  more 
desirable — though  it  might  cost  suffering,  was  a  work  of 
cheerfulness.  In  this  philosophical  view  of  the  matter,  it 
is  plainly  possible  to  bring  about  all  the  great  changes 
seen  in  the  average  people  of  the  apostolic  church,  by 
establishing  the  same  realization  of  a  future  life,  con- 
nected with  the  consideration  of  the  same  great  require- 
ments of  that  state. 

To  the  church  more  than  to  any  other  institution, 


NEED    OF    THE    CHURCH.  63 

mankind  are  looking  for  moral  and  spiritual  direction. 
What  is  there  admitted  is  commonly  considered  admis- 
sible. And  what  it  sees  fit  to  condemn,  the  popular 
sense  is  likely  to  pronounce  against.  Its  responsibility 
is  therefore  immense.  Hence,  it  should  be  solicitous 
for  every  means  that  will  enable  it  to  rightly  utilize  this 
public  confidence. 

By  the  same  co-ordination  of  accredited  facts  it  has 
been  conceded  to  be  the  chief  repository  of  the  intel- 
ligence concerning  another  world.  Its  precepts,  its 
claims,  have  come  from  another  world.  It  claims  to 
exist  by  appointment  from  the  world  of  spirits,  where 
the  Divine  Presence  is  more  apparent,  and  where,  too, 
the  decisions  of  the  Divine  WiU  are  more  perfectly  real- 
ized and  obeyed.  If,  then,  the  people  believe  too  little, 
and  incorrectly,  in  a  future  life,  it  is  largely  because 
the  church  has  been  unable  or  unwilling  to  intelligently 
teach  concerning  it.  The  failure  is  probably  due  to 
both  these  causes.  In  an  age  of  science  people  will  in 
some  measure  require  scientific  proof.  This  is  forth- 
coming at  the  expense  of  patient  investigation  in  that 
direction,  and  in  a  clearness,  also,  sufficient  to  excite 
belief  in  the  future  life  on  the  part  of  most  people  who 
are  not  organically  indisposed  to  a  faith  of  the  kind. 

Apparently  this  investigation  has  not  been  made  on 
account  of  an  anticipation  that  in  its  conclusions  cer- 
tain dogmas,  which  were  deemed  essential,  might  neces- 
sarily have  to  be  largely  modified  or  wholly  abandoned. 
And,  as  a  shift,  it  was  urged  that  revelation  alone  was 
sufficient;  and  the  fact   that   the   general  instinct  of 


64  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

mankind  anticipated  a  future  life,  was  esteemed  all  the 
corroboration  from  science  that  was  necessary. 

And,  moreover,  the  plea  supplementing  this,  by  the 
rank  and  file  of  preachers  and  teachers,  was  that  im- 
mortality was  an  inscrutable  subject,  and,  further  than 
a  matter  of  dogma,  was  unessential  to  gospel  work 
among  mankind.  From  this  has  arisen  a  skepticism  of 
a  most  dangerous  magnitude  in  the  very  body  of  the 
church.  From  want  of  scientific  confirmation  of  the 
traditional  faith  in  the  Bible  account  of  future  life,  con- 
sistency with  the  prevailing  habit  of  thought,  that  any- 
thing to  be  intelligently  received  must  be  reducible  to 
science,  rendered  it  necessary  to  discontinue  this  pow- 
ei*ful  element  of  apostolic  success. 

Thus  is  the  church  bereft  of  one  of  its  chief  powers 
over  the  souls  of  men,  and  become,  to  a  large  extent,  a 
mere  matter  of  social  policy,  and  liable  to  stray  to  any 
point  where  the  popular  voice  may  be  clamoring  for  a 
good  time.  '  And  so  this  great  elevating  power  is  come 
to  be  more  trailing  after  than  leading  in  the  affairs  of 
mankind. 

Of  the  extension  of  life  to  beyond  the  grave  there  is 
no  very  strong  certainty,  with  many  of  even  the  ruling 
number  of  its  membership.  And  the  practice  of  the 
higher  principles  of  Jesus,  on  account  of  the  apparent 
shortness  of  life  in  this  world,  considering,  too,  the 
greatness  of  the  undertaking,  is  usually  thought  as 
rather  too  much  for  mortals  to  succeed  in.  So,  then, 
to  live  on  about  as  nearly  right  as  is  customary  in 
church  relations,   is   the   extent   of   Christian   fidelity 


JESUS    AND    IMMORTALITY.  65 

sought  after  or  stipulated.  And  it  may  well  be  asked, 
how  long  can  this  state  of  things  endure — at  this  dead 
level — with  the  church  degenerating  into  a  mere  social 
society,  ready  to  accept  any  moral  state  that  the  social 
taste  may  incline  to  ? 

JESUS    AND   IMMORTALITY. 

Jesus  recognized  the  importance  of  grounding  his  dis- 
ciples firmly  in  the  faith  of  immortality.  In  this  simple 
fact  he  was  not  unlike  the  founders  of  the  other  great 
religions  of  the  world.  With  the  evident  purpose  of 
impressing  upon  them  the  re-assuring  fact  of  the  contin- 
uance of  life  in  its  essential  wholeness  and  self-hood 
beyond  the  death  of  the  body,  even  while  yet  personally 
with  them,  he  took  the  chief  ones  of  his  disciples  with 
him  into  the  mountain,  and  in  transfiguration  before 
them,  talked  face  to  face  with  Moses  and  Elias ;  thus  to 
their  open  vision — to  their  senses, — verifying  the  immor- 
tality of  man. 

To  them  there  was  but  one  means  of  verification  be- 
yond their  intuition  and  the  reliance  they  could  place 
on  the  testimony  of  others.  This  was  the  witness  of 
the  senses.  Science  had  not  accumulated  its  present 
immense  store  of  facts  and  principles  bearing  on  the- 
subject.  To  be  the  companion  of  Jesus  was  to  be  the- 
witness  of  the  "  supernatural  " — prophecy,  spiritual 
power  over  physical  substances,  and  angel  visitations — 
all  of  which  could  not  fail  to  contribute  much  to  cause 
the  realization  of  the  personal  continuance  in  the  spirit- 


66  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

ual  state,  which  so  strongly  characterized  them  while  in 
his  presence  and  during  all  the  subsequent  time  they 
lived.  Only  for  a  few  days  following  his  arrest  and  ex- 
ecution was  there  any  abatement  in  the  zeal  of  their 
discipleship.  Seeing  him  in  the  power  of  his  enemies 
and  dying  at  their  hands,  led  them  for  the  moment  to 
despair  and  lapse  into  their  former  belief. 

They  even  then  shared  the  common  hope  of  some 
sort  of  rising  of  the  dead,  held  by  the  average  Jew, 
which  was  little,  if  any,  inferior  to  that  of  most  Chris- 
tian people  of  to-day. 

But  this  ordinary  hope  was  every  way  insufficient  to 
support  them  as  his  chosen  vessels  to  carry  his  truth 
before  the  world.  And  the  tendency  already,  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  day,  was  toward  abandonment  of 
the  work.  Their  obstinate  unbelief  of  the  women,  and 
of  the  men  going  to  Emmaus,  who  testified  to  having 
seen  him,  and  that  he  was  "  risen  indeed, "  was  such  as 
to  merit  his  sharp  rebuke. 

But  the  crisis  was  forever  passed,  when  they  looked 
upon  him  who  had  been  dead,  and  were  challenged  to 
handle  him :  "  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it 
is  I,  MYSELF  "  (Luke  xxiv:  39).  To  their  minds  the  un- 
natural, spiritual  ghost  was  now  at  once  and  forever 
banished  from  the  immortal  land,  and  the  personal  self 
of  man,  with  all  his  essential  appointments,  took  its 
place.  When  they  thought  the  presence  to  be  his  spirit, 
they  were  in  terror,  but  when  they  saw  it  to  be  himself, 
they  were  reunited  with  him  in  their  old  familiar  love. 
The  spirit  world  again  became  the  real  world,  with  all 


JESUS    AND    IMMOKTALITY.  67 

the  great  attractions  of  life  being  from  that  higher  and 
greatly  superior  state. 

They  were  seen  to  be  lacking  the  great  incentive  to 
steadfast  perseverance,  while  in  possession  of  but  the 
ordinary  belief  of  mankind  in  respect  to  life  in  the 
future.  With  all  which  the  ordinary  faith  could  do  for 
them,  as  a  motive,  aided  by  the  knowledge  of  the  value 
of  the  truths  committed  to  their  charge,  and  by  the 
powerful  love  of  Christ  yet  fresh  in  its  influence  on 
their  hearts,  they  were  powerless  to  face  the  world  and 
to  brook  the  required  self-denials  for  the  sake  of  their 
Master's  kingdom,  till  the  full  character  and  certainty  of 
that  world  was  added. 

But  mark  the  difference  from  the  hour  of  his  visita- 
tion to  them  from  the  dead — his  personal  return  from 
beyond  physical  death.  The  former  sense  of  death 
existed  no  more.  Death  might  be  accompanied  with 
fearful  pain  inflicted  by  the  ingenious  torture  of  ene- 
mies, and  dreaded  on  that  account,  but  as  to  itself, 
properly,  it  had  lost  its  sting,  and  the  grave  its  victory. 
From  that  hour  they  were  practically  occupants  of  a 
new  existence,  as  truly  so  as  though  they  had  stepped 
out  of  their  flesh.  That  they  thought  no  longer  the 
thoughts  on  the  greater  subjects  of  life  the  rest  of  the 
world  indulged  in,  is  sufficiently  evident  in  what  they 
said  and  how  they  deported  themselves.  Neither  were 
they  irregular  in  their  ideas,  nor  fanatical  in  their 
deportment,  but  were  the  most  sane  of  all  people. 

If  it  be  said  that  this  great  change  was  owing  to  the 
miracle  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  Day  of  Pentecost, 


68  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

bringing  about  an  extraordinary  transformation,  which 
is  not  to  be  under-estimated,  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked 
that  prior  to  that  remarkable  visitation,  they  were  lifted 
entirely  above  their  previous  level — that  they  were 
brought  together  in  that  assembly  by  a  lofty  considera- 
tion which  the  facts  of  the  few  weeks  previous  had 
evoked.  Peter,  previously  slender  in  courage,  was  no 
longer  a  coward  in  the  face  of  death,  nor  reticent  before 
the  world;  being  now  conscious  that  his  flesh  was 
all  of  which  his  enemies  could  deprive  him,  which, 
save  a  short  period  of  suffering,  would  affect  him  no 
more  than  the  rending  of  his  mantle  would  do.  The 
world's  wisdom  respecting  life  and  its  needs  was  won- 
derfully changed  from  the  view  which  was  taken  from 
his  standpoint  of  a  present  endless  life.  The  superior  life 
universally  accorded  to  the  apostles,  in  the  enlightened 
world,  was  but  such  as  might  be  expected  to  follow  from 
the  view  of  the  future  life  they  possessed.  Kemembering 
that  with  them  it  was  not  faith,  not  doctrine  written  in 
a  book  and  signed,  not  sentiment,  but  realization,  un- 
encumbered by  doubt ! 

While  the  Master  truly  said,  "  Blessed  are  they  who 
have  not  seen  and  yet  have  believed, "  the  real  occasion 
of  his  visit  to  them  at  the  time  of  the  announcement 
of  this  great  truth,  was  to  demonstrate  the  life  beyond 
the  tomb  by  personally  returning  from  that  state  in  a 
naturalness  quite  indistinguishable  from  his  former  self. 
That  there  was  at  this  time  something  superior  to  ordi- 
nary nature  about  him,  is  to  be  judged  from  the  alarm 
they  felt  at  his  presence,  which,  however,  was  soon  dis- 


APOSTOLIC    AND    MODERN    CHRISTIANS.  69 

pelled  by  his  kindly  words  and   challenge  to  examine 
his  person  and  be  satisfied  of  his  identity. 

The  power  of  believing  beyond  the  evidence  of  the 
senses,  he  taught  them  to  consider  a  greater  qualifica- 
tion than  that  of  working  miracles ;  nevertheless,  of  the 
ocular  demonstration  of  future  life  there  was  a  necessity 
to  them,  as  they  were,  and  in  view  of  the  hardships  they 
were  to  encounter  in  the  work  of  his  ministry.  While 
the  abstract  power  of  believing  was  important,  there 
was  a  need  of  supporting  that  belief  by  external  evi- 
dence. Intuition  and  faith  must  lead  the  way  in 
discoveries,  but  if  discoveries  do  not  follow  after  to  con- 
firm, the  belief  becomes  a  superstition,  and  a  hindrance 
to  progress. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  AND  MODERN  CHRISTIAN  COMPARED. 

As  compared  with  the  Apostolic  Christian,  the  aver- 
age Christian  of  to-day  is  less  reliant  in  a  hope  beyond 
the  grave,  in  about  the  same  measure  in  which  he 
practices  less  self-denial  for  the  cause  of  the  Master. 
There  is  among  believers  much  said  in  respect  to  death 
and  futurity,  but  chiefly  with  reference  to  a  necessity  of 
a  religious  preparation  for  the  final  contingencies  in- 
volved in- them.  And  judging  altogether  from  the  much 
that  is  thus  said  on  the  subject,  in  public  and  private,  the 
conclusion  is  justifiable  that  what  is  said  is  often  very 
feebly  believed  by  the  parties  themselves  urging  it.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  the  Christian  of  to-day  believes  much 
more  strongly  and  rationally  in  immortality  than  did 


70  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

the  Jew  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  and  whether  he  is  not 
quite  as  deficient  in  those  higher  requirements  of  the 
Christian  law,  with  its  multiform  aggressive  duties,  as 
was  the  Jew  then  deficient  in  the  weightier  matters  of 
Moses'  law,  judgment  and  mercy.  With  his  restricted 
ideas  of  human  existence,  as  to  duration,  the  Jew 
was  too  selfish,  and  too  limited  in  equity  and  in  com- 
passion, to  bear  with  his  neighbor.  Will  the  Christian, 
with  similarly  contracted  ideas  of  the  duration  of  the 
essential  man,  probably  work  out  more  successfully  the 
great  principles  of  his  Master  in  sacrificing  for  the  ele- 
vation of  his  neighbor  and  his  enemy?  is  the  question 
to  be  solved  by  the  special  claimants  of  Jesus,  as  well 
as  by  the  Christian  public  generally. 

Is  not  the  steady  but  very  slow  improvement  of  the 
masses  in  Christian  countries,  more  owing  to  the  passive 
granting  of  liberties  and  institutions  of  learning,  secu- 
lar and  sacred,  by  the  public,  together  with  a  pulpit  of 
more  or  less  efficiency  in  .shaping  popular  sentiment, 
than  to  a  Christlike  going  forth  to  the  spiritually  needy, 
with  personal  sympathy  and  encouragement  to  a  better 
life, — teaching  the  unconcerned  and  the  vicious  that  his 
life  is  intended  for  higher  uses  than  to  operate  on  the 
grade  on  which  he  is  now  living?  It  is  beyond  dispute 
that  this  work  of  soul-culture,  as  a  prime  object  of  life, 
is  dependent  on  a  principle  which  is  able  to  command 
great  self-denial ;  which  would,  it  seems,  be  largely  the 
result  of  properly  believing  the  primitive  Christian  doc- 
trine of  immortality, — as  much  so  to  the  church  of  the 
present  as  it  was  to  that  of  the  olden  time. 


APOSTOLIC    AND    MODERN    CHRISTIANS.  71 

It  is  necessary  that  the  church  accept  with  extreme 
care  any  innovations  upon  its  customary  belief.  Eash- 
ness  here  might  be  a  disaster  to  mankind,  of  no  small 
magnitude,  But  it  should  be  also  careful,  in  looking 
after  its  means  to  success,  to  know  with  certainty  that 
it  is  in  possession  of  every  principle  that  can  militate 
for  human  good ;  and  should  adopt  without  hesitation 
the  precedents  of  faith  and  practice  established  by  the 
Master  himself  and  by  his  immediate  discipleship, 
none  of  which  is  more  prominent  than  the  appeal  to  an 
immortality  of  a  higher  and  more  perfect  life — a  life  of 
tangible  realities,  of  the  eternal  companionship  of  man, 
and  infallible  responsibility  to  God — ^in  the  world  beyond 
death. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

Importance  of  Eealizing  Powers,  Especially  in  Appre- 
hending THE  Evidences  of  Science  in  Kelation  to 
the  Doctrine  of  Immortality. 

REALIZATION  is  chiefly  on  the  plane  of  the  external 
senses.  The  external  world  is  to  us  the  great  reality, 
because  we  see  it,  feel  it,  and  otherwise  observe  of  it  by 
our  senses.  To  this  we  are  so  accustomed  as  to  render 
it,  in  some  instances,  quite  difficult  to  get  life  properly 
impressed  by  the  facts  that  lie  beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
senses.  And  for  this  reason  the  realities  which  lie 
interior  of  visible  nature  are  little  available  to  the  un- 
derstanding of  a  large  part  of  mankind. 

It  is  only  by  special  intellectual  discipline  of  quite 
high  order,  that  one  may  attain  the  ability  to  recognize 
hot  only  the  underlying  forces  of  external  nature,  but 
also  ^  those  external  phenomena  which,  from  their  vast- 
ness,  may  not  be  brought  within  the  scope  of  the  senses. 
There  is  a  sort  of  mental  clairvoyance  by  which  truly 
scientific  minds  are  able  to  realize  worlds  which  such  as 
rely  only  on  the  very  limited  use  their  senses  can  render 
them,  hardly  know  of.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the 
mind,  by  this  means,  entering  world  after  world,  as  its 
intellectual  vision  enlarges  to  take  in  system  after  sys- 
tem of  forces  and  laws  that  belong  to  special  planes  or 

72 


THE    EEALIZING    POWEBS.  73 

strata  of  being,  or  as  it  is  newly  made  acquainted  with 
combinations  of  elements  and  forces  in  our  OAvn  common 
world. 

It  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  the  enlargement  of 
mental  capacity  and  the  advancement  in  knowledge  are 
mainly  from  the  ability  to  realize  what  is  only  mentally 
seen,  w^hether  introduced  by  the  senses  or  caught  up 
from  intellectual  reflection.  No  mental  operation  is 
satisfactory — becomes  assimilated  with  the  mind — till 
all  the  essential  parts  and  their  proper  conclusions  are 
realized  distinctly.  They  must  be  seen  by  the  intellect- 
ual vision  in  all  their  parts,  as  really  as  the  external 
eye  beholds  an  external  object.  A  fact,  in  pure  math- 
ematics, requires  to  be  realized,  and  to  stand  out  before 
the  intellect  to  mental  view,  with  its  elements  prop- 
erly gathered  and  joined  as  an  objective  structure, 
before  it  is  satisfactory  and  become  a  matter  of  knowl- 
edge. Mind  is  creative  and,  in  some  part  of  it,  orig- 
inative. In  mechanism  the  object  may  externally 
exist  in  draft  or  model,  but  before  the  hands  go  into 
operation,  it  is  erected  in  thought  and  become  a  mental 
creation.  Or  the  imaginative  mind,  following  out  cer- 
tain rhythmic  impulses,  reaches  into  the  unknown  and 
originates  the  object  and  produces  it  to  the  mental 
senses — a  real  thing.  Mentally  holding  in  hand  known 
elements  of  fact,  the  mind  feels  its  way  into  the  unknown, 
still  further  to  obtain  needed  facts  or  principles,  as  the 
builder  of  wood  or  stone  does  for  his  structure,  till  a 
sense  of  completeness  satisfies  it,  and  the  parts  are  put 
together,  and   it   is   a  complete  mental   device,  to  be 


74  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

looked  upon,  left  standing  and  returned  to,  as  if  it  were 
a  statue  or  a  house. 

Thus  is  the  power  of  realization  of  essential  impor- 
tance in  the  abstract  domain;  but  we  shall  find  the 
need  of  it  more  apparent  when  we  come  to  the  consider- 
ation of  the  palpable  substances  of  nature,  where  enti- 
ties lie  concealed  from  the  senses ;  or  what  is  practically 
the  same,  where  their  vastness  is  such  that  the  phys- 
ical senses  can  take  no  observation  of  their  wholeness. 
Let  us  instance  the  planetary  character  of  our  earth. 
It  is  round — a  ball  of  immense  size.  Standing  upon  it 
in  the  most  favorable  position,  but  little  of  the  curva- 
ture of  its  surface  is  discernible  by  the  unaided  eye. 
It  appears  a  level,  extending  indefinitely  into  the  hori- 
zon in  every  direction,  giving  the  false  realization  that 
the  earth  is  of  a  flat  surface.  Even  he,  to  whom  its 
roundness  is  by  the  intellect  unquestionably  apparent, 
may  be  strongly  affected  by  this  false  realization ;  and 
instead  of  enjoying  the  proper  realization,  of  an  exist- 
ence elevated  on  the  outer  surface  of  a  ball,  his  pre- 
vailing realization  may  be  that  he  is  but  on  a  level 
plain  or  depressed  below.  Or  to  extend  the  principle 
to  another  phase  of  our  terrestrial  state,  the  realization 
is  that  the  sun  and  other  heavenly  bodies  move  about 
the  earth — rising  from  beneath  in  the  east  and  going 
down  beneath  in  the  west,  the  earth  not  only  being  the 
center  of,  but  itself  mainly,  the  universe.  This  is  the 
impression  derived  through  our  external  senses,  unaided 
by  any  intellectual  device,  and  shows  how  imperfect  and 
limited  is  their  service  in  defining  truth  to  us.     The  true 


THE    BEALIZING    POWEES.  75 

realization,  and  which  is  a  mental  conception  only,  is 
that  the  vast  earth  is  a  satellite,  rotating  about  the 
sun,  which  is  of  such  transcendent  vastness  as,  by  com- 
parison, to  reduce  the  earth  to  insignificance.  Or,  prop- 
erly, leaving  the  earth  in  all  its  true  immensity,  and 
thus  allowing  the  comparison,  the  realization  of  the 
sun's  vastness  would  be  a  globular  mass  whose  outer 
limits  would  lie  beyond  where  probably  ordinary  con- 
ception has  placed  infinity. 

And  taking  yet  another  instance  connected  with  our 
planetary  state.  The  false  realization  is  that  our  abode 
is  stationary  and  the  celestial  scenery  thus  moves  about 
us.  The  true  realization  is  of  the  earth  being  one  in 
the  great  panorama  of  worlds,  moving  in  silent  velocity 
through  space  at  a  rate  of  over  sixty  thousand  miles  in 
an  hour.  Of  such  a  rate  of  traveling,  and  of  such  an 
extensive  track,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  ordinary 
mortals  can  at  their  best  have  proper  appreciation  or 
distinct  realization.  But  the  approximate  realization  of 
these  vastnesses  is  yet  a  necessity  to  the  astronomer  in 
obtaining  a  ready  command  of  his  most  magnificent 
science. 

By  these  illustrations  it  is  seen  that  life  is  mentally 
transferable  into  states  indefinitely  beyond  the  scope  of 
physical  perception,  where  the  deeper  and  more  funda- 
mental facts  of  nature,  as  well  as  the  more  inspiring, 
become  unquestionable  realities — sceneries  capable  of 
exciting  in  it  aspirations  after  still  higher  and  more 
gratifying  attainments.  Every  system  of  principles  in 
nature  is  a  thing  of  beauty,  and  to  realize  these  occtdt 


76  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

works,  is  to  be  impressed  by  the  beautiful,  and  to  be 
elevated. 

But  this  pertains  to  physical  principles  no  more  than 
to  moral  and  spiritual,  all  of  which  are  discernible  as 
realities  analogous  to  substances.  We  see  an  expression 
of  a  certain  nature  in  man  adapting  him  to  goodness. 
And,  in  the  conception  of  its  principles,  it  becomes  an 
intellectual  reality — a  structure  that  we  name  the  moral 
principle — recognized  by  the  intellectual  and  moral 
senses.  Internal,  mental  pictures  exert  an  influence 
upon  life  hardly  less  potent  than  do  the  representations 
or  the  realities  of  external  nature,  if  developed  to  a 
clearness  attainable  under  a  high  state  of  excitement. 
One  greatly  important  work  in  the  moral  reform  of  an 
individual  is  to  remove  from  the  imagination  pictures  of 
immorality,  and  to  supply  their  places  with  those  of 
virtue.  The  libertine  in  solitude  recalls  the  scenes  of 
revelry, — the  fevered  imagination  paints  new  ones,  and, 
in  gazing  upon  them,  resistance  becomes  overpowered, 
and  he  is  the  victim  to  a  calling  which  his  better  nature 
despises.  A  change  of  scenery  is  necessary.  The  moral 
nature  must  gain  strength  by  the  contemplation  of 
scenes  of  an  opposite  character,  constantly  presented  to 
the  mind,  suggested  by  personal  illustrations  or  devised 
and  drawn  from  contemplation. 

One  is  capable,  then,  by  certain  forms  of  mental  dis- 
cipline, to  attain  the  ability  to  abstract  himself  from 
the  power  of  the  external  senses,  and  to  cause  the  hid- 
den properties  and  forces  of  nature,  reached  only  by 
the  intellect,  to  take  definite  form  before  him,  on  which 


THE    KEALIZING    POWERS.  77 

he  may  rely  with  all  the  assurance  that  the  external 
senses  can  warrant.  The  success  of  the  mental  effort 
largely  depends  on  this  ability.  Unless  one  can  thus 
shape  any  well  proved  principle  or  fact  in  nature  and 
give  it  substantial /orw  before  his  mind's  eye,  he  will  be 
able  to  make  but  little  advancement  in  the  higher  ele- 
ments of  knowledge  in  any  department.  The  doors  to 
the  substantial  realities  in  nature  to  which  his  outer 
senses  are  not  adapted,  and  which  comprise  the  major 
part  ^f  existence  proper,  are  practically  closed  to  him. 
And  his  life  must  remain  imprisoned  in  about  the  same 
narrow  limits  of  sensuous  observation  that  circumscribe 
the  lower  animals,  and  beyond  which,  the  aspirations 
of  thought  he  might  have  could  hardly  rise. 

The  mind  can  grow  only  as  intuitions  lead  the  way, 
and  as  it  places  reliance  on  intellectual  perceptions.  It 
must  attain  to  the  power  of  intellectual  clairvoyance. 
The  culture  of  that  gift  must  not  be  neglected  by  him 
who  would  be  the  subject  of  those  happifying  im- 
pressions which  the  Creator  has  placed  for  his  inheri- 
tance. He  who  would  acquaint  himself  with  the  inner 
glories  of  nature,  and  know  about  the  primary  realities — 
the  invisible  substances  and  powers  on  which  visible,  ex- 
ternal nature  depends  for  every  property  it  possesses — 
must  learn  to  behold  by  the  light  of  the  intellect. 

He,  more  especially,  who  would  do  justice  to  inquiry 
after  the  truth  of  immortality,  must  bring  this  accom- 
plishment with  him  to  his  work;  otherwise,  he  must 
expect  but  little  satisfaction  from  his  toil.  Spiritual 
things,  it  was  said,  are  spiritually  discerned.     And  so. 


78  CONSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 

too,  of  the  principles  in  nature  that  evidence  a  future 
life;  they  necessarily  are  more  refined  and  therefore 
more  subtile  in  their  character,  and  require  not  only  the 
use  of  good  judgment  but  strong  realizing  sense,  to  prop- 
erly apply  them.  It  is  also  necessary  to  remember  that 
a  strong  mineralistic  bias  is  given  to  science  by  a  large 
part  of  its  cultivators;  and  to  correct  this,  so  that 
science  shall  have  its  full  import  on  a  subject  of  this 
character,  will  require  that  special  effort  be  made  at 
realization.  The  spiritual  side  of  nature  has  been  little 
thought  upon,  or  been  shunned,  from  fear  of  ridicule  or 
of    being   judged,  by  the  masters,  heretical  in  science. 

Customary  observation  of  claims  to  such  an  existence 
we  may,  then,  justly  suspect  of  being  unduly  mineralis- 
tic ;  so  much  so  as  to  mislead  even  the  most  judicious 
of  scientists.  While  they  have  rightly  claimed  that  the 
student  has  no  .choice  in  the  matter  of  belief,  but  must 
abide  by  evident  truth,  the  external  senses  have  been 
the  basis  of  realization  over  the  indisputable  proofs  of 
inductive  reasoning.  To  avoid  believing  strongly  in 
what  has  the  scientific  probabilities  somewhat  against  it 
is  natural  to  a  conscientious  scholar,  but  to  pass  lightly 
upon  what,  if  true  in  science,  would  achieve  a  universal 
blessing,  and  that  out  of  fear  of  ill  favor  from  others, 
is  certainly  as  unbecoming  as  anything  could  well  be  to  a 
patron  or  cultivator  of  knowledge  among  mankind. 
While  he  has  no  choice  in  believing,  he  should  be  ex- 
pected in  his  researches  to  have  reference  to  discoveries 
that  would  be  of  the  larger  benefit  to  the  race. 

The  disposition  of  science  to  conserve  the  interest  of 


DEVELOPMENT    OF    KEALIZING   POWERS.  79 

mankind  by  directing  investigation  chiefly  toward  me- 
chanical arts,  is  a  prominent  reason  why  the  realiza- 
tion has  been  so  exclusively  miner alistic.  By  discoveries 
of  this  kind  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  have 
been  much  enlarged,  and  thereby  discoverers  have 
become  celebrated,  though  too  rarely  requited  in  tem- 
poral returns.  Also  false  teachings  in  religion  must  come 
in  for  a  share  of  this  responsibility.  It  has  been  com- 
monly given  out  from  a  religious  standpoint,  that  the 
spiritual  state  is  in  no  sense  material,  and  that  necessa- 
rily nature  could  not  be  supposed  to  have  indications  of 
such  an  existence. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  REALIZING   POWERS. 

Customary  thought  will  to  some  extent  induce  realiza- 
tion. Even  known  fiction  becomes  a  reality,  and  from 
it  persons,  locations  and  events  will  have  place  in  the 
reader's  memory,  as  lasting  as  those  of  actual  existence ; 
and  thus  may  be  highly  serviceable,  as  well  as  at  times 
detrimental,  to  life.  Hence  to  increase  this  power  with 
respect  to  a  desired  object,  it  is  necessary  to  habitually 
indulge  the  consideration  of  its  reality.  If  objection  be 
taken  to  this,  that  it  may  lead  to  the  establishment  of 
errors  by  allowing  what  is  not  true  to  be  confirmed  as 
fact,  it  may  be  answered,  that  scientific  culture  among 
the  people  is  quite  a  failure  from  lack  of  this  qualifica- 
tion. People  are  too  little  accustomed  to  enter  into  a 
realization  of  demonstrated  trath. 


80  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

DELUSION    OF    THE  SENSES. 

Besides,  as  seen,  the  senses  themselves  are  often  de- 
ceived, rendering  appearances  that  are  not  founded  in 
fact.  The  dictates  of  reason  are  to  be  ever  regarded  as 
the  most  reliable  of  evidence.  Eeference  has  already 
been  made  to  instances  in  relation  to  the  rotundity  of  the 
earth,  its  motions  and  state  among  the  heavenly  bodies, 
where  the  delusion  of  the  senses  is  known  and  yet  per- 
sisted in,  in  defiance  of  knowledge.  The  reliability  of 
the  external  senses  is  unfavorably  affected  in  at  least 
two  ways :  in  the  derangement  of  the  organs  themselves 
and  in  the  disordered  condition  of  the  faculties  in  sym- 
pathy with  them.  To  the  insane  mind  the  aberrations 
are  often  so  complete  as  to  produce  imaginary  objects 
not  having  the  least  foundation  in  fact,  being  only  the 
external  reflections  of  the  chimeras  created  by  the  dis- 
ordered fancy  within.  And  yet  of  such  strength  may  a 
false  realization  of  this  kind  become,  as  to  render  its 
victim  an  object  of  great  danger.  Indispensable  as 
those  senses  are,  their  services  must  be  received  with 
care,  as  by  reason  of  liabilities  of  this  character  they 
are  not  always  able  to  report  nature  correctly.  The 
true  observation,  by  whatever  instrumentalities,  is  always 
being  made  by  the  sane  mind  within.  Taking  for  exam- 
ple the  eye,  it  can  only  observe  according  to  the  capac- 
ity and  state  of  the  intelligence  which  is  back  of  it,  and 
beholding  through  it.  The  eye  of  the  brute,  though 
more  perfect  in  mechanism  than  that  of  man,  yet  sees 
less  of  material  nature  because  of  a  less  sentient  mind 


DELUSION    OF    THE  SENSES.  81 

behind  it.  A  very  poor  eye  in  the  head  of  a  large,  bright 
intellect  sees  immensely,  while  an  eagle  eye  before  a 
deficient  mind  sees  little  more  than  the  objects  of  per- 
sonal wants. 

It  is  by  the  ability  to  place  reliance  on  existences 
intellectually  seen — and  in  many  cases  discernible  by 
that  means  only — that  the  greater  and  more  inspiring 
truths  become  accessible  to  man.  Here  is  the  thresh- 
old leading  to  the  grandeurs  above,  waiting  the  ability 
to  advance  and  take  possession.  One's  destiny  is  at  the 
dark  base  of  the  sublime  ascent,  unless  he  succeed  to 
this  requisite  means  of  following  nature  through  its  or- 
derly but  somewhat  intricate  routes  from  its  beginnings 
to  its  summits  in  infinity.  In  ascending  a  mountain,  it 
is  often  the  case  that  clouds  impinge  upon  its  rugged 
sides,  and  we  have  nothing  but  the  tortuous  and  dimly 
defined  path  on  which  to  rely  for  direction.  Faithful 
climbing  upon  this  path  results  in  a  position  above  the 
bewildering  clouds — a  position  from  which  may  be 
clearly  seen  what  previously  baffled  the  understanding. 
So,  faithfully  relying  on  well  proven  principles  of  nature, 
hidden  from  the  senses  though  they  may  be,  will  in 
due  time  lead  to  the  observation  of  other  principles,  and 
thus  onward,  till  by  mental  clairvoyance  our  opaque 
world  will  have  become  a  great  transparency,  displaying 
in  combination,  substances  and  states  of  such  beauty 
and  order  and  purity — so  many  substantial,  bright 
worlds  lying  within  the  same  space,  so  many  grand  uni- 
verses— as  that  there  shall  attach  no  more  mystery  to 
either  spirit  or  spirit  world. 

6 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

Tendency  of   Science   to   Confirm  the  Theory  of  a 
State  of  Immortality. 

THE  prevailing  consideration  has  been  that  for  in- 
struction in  spiritual  things  one  must  go  to 
revelation  alone.  Science  could  testify  to  nothing  of 
that  character.  And  we  find  very  much  of  that  thought 
still,  even  among  well-informed  people.  Probably  from 
the  fact  that  revelation  itself  implies  a  spiritual  exist- 
ence, and  affirms  the  future  life  in  such  plain,  compre- 
hensive language,  speaking  of  it  with  the  assurance 
that  one  speaks  of  the  objects  of  external  nature,  people 
have  come  to  regard  it  as  the  source  of  what  knowledge 
is  to  be  had  of  the  existence  beyond  death.  And  truly, 
revelation  has  not  only  led  the  way  in  the  understanding 
of  this  great  truth,  but  it  has  been  to  the  greater  and 
more  intelligent  part  of  the  race,  the  only  reliance  in 
respect  to  intelligence  of  that  world.  And  that  rev- 
elation has  been  of  immense  importance  in  this  respect, 
as  well  as  in  respect  to  the  moral  needs  of  the  race, 
can  scarcely  be  disputed  in  the  light  of  the  facts  of  or- 
dinary history.  The  simple  could  understand  enough  of 
it  to  have  a  wholesome  and  comforting  trust  in  a  life 
beyond  the  tomb ;  while  those  of  higher  intelligence  saw 

82 


THE    TENDENCY    OF    SCIENCE.  83 

in  it  at  least  a  corroboration  of  their  intuitive  belief  of 
that  state,  and  nothing  to  materially  conflict  with  the 
deductions  of  science  in  respect  to  it ;  and,  because  of  it, 
belief  in  the  hereafter  has  been  much  stronger. 

But  there  has  been,  nevertheless,  with  the  scientific- 
ally inclined  believers  in  revelation,  very  commonly,  a 
feeling  of  disappointment  that  natural  principles  did  not 
afford  stronger  proof  of  future  life.  Also  those  inclined 
to  array  themselves  as  mineralists  against  it,  from  choice 
of  opposition  or  from  real  unbelief,  felt  very  content  to 
consider  that  nature's  verdict  was  at  least  neutral  on 
the  question,  and  that  the  belief  might  be  safely  classi- 
fied as  a  superstition  to  which,  mainly,  people  of  weak 
minds  might  be  expected  to  yield  credence.  It  has, 
therefore,  not  been  easy  with  ordinary  mankind,  to 
cherish  a  full  realization  of  a  future  state,  or  to  place 
very  strong  reliance  on  the  claims  of  it.  A  cause  is  not 
clearly  established  while  the  evidence  of  an  important 
witness  is  not  yet  given.  Nature,  while  ever  unwilling 
to  deny  the  immortality,  till  recently,  could,  by  hardly 
any  of  her  oracles,  fully  affirm.  Besides,  from  the  self- 
imposed,  excessive  mineralistic  habits  of  reasoning  re- 
ferred to,  scientists  were  disposed  to  pass  unthinkingly 
over  the  facts  therein  in  which  the  solid  proofs  are 
found. 

BIGOTRY  NOT  LIMITED  TO  A  CLASS. 

Bigotry  is  by  no  means  confined  to  religionists.  Nor 
is  fanaticism  exclusively  the  product  of  religiously 
heated  brains.     Few  great  minds  can,  with  their  pranc- 


84  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

ing  energies,  be  sufficiently  passive  to  be  unbiased 
observers  of  nature.  They  are  to  be  expected  to  come 
from  their  schools,  to  a  large  extent  shaped  by  their 
schooling,  with  their  faculties  of  thought  directed  mainly 
by  pre-conceptions,  and  with  their  learning  consisting, 
in  a  large  measure,  in  but  the  transfer  of  the  ideas  of 
their  teachers.  It  is  incidental  to  the  law  of  education, 
and,  while  it  may  be  deplored,  may  seldom  be  overcome. 
Indeed,  who  shall  rightly  understand  himself  in  respect 
to  this,  since  it  is  not  a  matter  of  conscience  or  personal 
honesty,  but  of  involuntary  conception  ?  The  mental  eye 
is  living,  sentient,  and  cannot  help  seeing  the  object  to 
which  it  is  directed.  And  it  could  not  be  expected  to 
not  recognize  what  is  seen.  And  the  hard  training  tends 
to  all  the  more  tightly  adjust  it  to  its  view.  So  what 
is  out  of  that  line  of  vision  will  have  little  chance  of 
recognition  by  the  eye  which,  by  education,  is  best  qual- 
ified to  judge  of  it.  The  ignorant  one  is  unfitted  for  the 
work  of  discovery.  If  he  were  to  drift  about  upon  the 
domain  of  nature  more  impartially  than  the  one  of  cult- 
ure, and  come  in  contact  with  a  valuable  principle,  the 
unsentient  mind  would  not  recognize  it.  So  here  we 
are  placed. 

To  change  over  to  new  views,  or  to  introduce  a  new 
element  of  philosophy,  is  commonly  the  work  of  an  ec- 
centric, who,  by  certain  efficient  qualities  of  mind,  well 
cultivated,  finding  the  clue  of  some  new  departure, 
readily  takes  it  up,  and  pursues  it  far  enough  to  make 
the  discovery  of  important  new  principles,  which,  after 
a  time  of  usually  hard  struggle,  are  admitted  to  favor 


THE    TENDENCY    OF    SCIENCE.  85 

with  the  schools,  and  thus  become  the  sentiment  of  the 
people.  But  eccentrics  are  not  commonly  safe  people. 
Where  they  are  once  serviceable,  ten  times  they  may  be 
hindrances  to  progress,  and  destructive  to  needful  and 
costly  institutions. 

Evidently,  to  be  at  its  best,  and  in  the  fulfillment  of 
its  mission,  science  needs  the  ability  to  vary  from  its 
customary  points  of  view,  to  take  into  consideration 
other  phases  and  sides  of  nature,  than  those  commonly 
recognized.  Too  commonly  investigation  is  pushed 
along  only  seeking  the  establishment  of  previously  de- 
termined ends.  And  no  minutiae  bearing  upon  this 
could  well  escape  detection,  while  basic,  large  and  quite 
conspicuous  principles,  unaccustomed  to  thought,  might 
pass  unnoticed.  All  great  discoveries  have  been  stum- 
bled over  and  trampled  upon  by  previous  cultivators  of 
science,  because  they  were  not  suspected. 

Happily  among  the  developments  of  thought  in  sci- 
entific circles  of  the  present  time,  there  is  a  marked  tend- 
ency toward  the  spiritual  side  of  nature.  Perhaps  not 
from  design,  but  more  from  the  direction  inquiries  in 
certain  branches  of  physical  philosophy  have  taken  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years.  Causes  of  physical  phenomena 
have  been  inquired  after  by  more  persistent  and  penetra- 
tive search.  The  "  affections  "  of  matter  have  been 
considered  more  attentively  and  seen  to  be  expressions 
of  systems  of  nature  farther  internal  than  the  plane  on 
which  physical  philosophy  has  usually  been  regarded. 
Properties  and  forces  in  nature  are  seen  to  disappear 
from  view  beyond  the  senses  and  the  means  of  physical 


86  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 


I 


analysis,  transferring  their  causes  as  well  as  effects  to 
regions  unknown,  and  to  connect  with  entities  there  no 
less  real  and  substantial  than  are  those  they  are  identi- 
fied with  on  the  visible  plane.  This  is  not  without  a 
meaning  which  is  strongly  attracting  attention. 

That  there  is  a  something  in  that  region,  may  not  be 
doubted  by  him  who  is  familiar  with  these  facts,  and  is 
fairly  disposed  to  credit  what  he  sees.  And  that  some- 
thing cannot  be  less  substantial — less  consistent,  in  its 
own  nature  and  state,  than  is  the  world  which  we  re- 
alize about  us.  And  the  conclusion  is  scarcely  avoidable 
that  our  existence,  as  to  realization,  is  but  with  one  of 
the  several  states  of  nature — the  crude,  physical, — ^with 
a  higher  related  therewith,  to  be  made  in  turn  our 
abode  on  becoming  released  by  the  sundering  of  the  ties 
that  now  hold  us  to  this.  That  all  scientists  join  in 
this  conclusion,  would  be  quite  too  much  to  affirm.  Yet 
that  such  is  the  attainment  in  science,  as  to  the  exist- 
ence of  these  occult  forces,  traceable  from  visible  to  in- 
visible nature,  there  would  hardly  be  found  a  dissenting 
voice  among  recognized  scholars. 

But  a  few  references  will  aid  in  confirming  this  con- 
clusion :  Prof.  E.  L.  Youmans,  of  our  country,  in  the  in- 
troduction to  a  work  on  the  correlation  and  conservation 
of  force,  in  which  he  has  collected  papers  from  a  goodly 
number  of  the  standard  writers  of  the  old  world,  in 
matters  of  science,  makes  these  decisive  statements: 
"  There  are  many  who  deplore  what  they  regard  as  the 
materializing  tendencies  of  modern  science.  They  main- 
tain that  this  profound  and  increasing  engrossment  of 


THE    TENDENCY    OF    SCIENCE.  87 

the  mind  with  material  objects,  is  fatal  to  all  refining 
and  spiritualizing  influence.  The  correctness  of  this 
conclusion  is  open  to  serious  question ;  indeed  the  his- 
tory of  scientific  thought  not  only  fails  to  justify  it,  but 
proves  the  reverse  to  be  true.  It  shows  that  the  tend- 
ency of  this  kind  of  inquiry  is  ever  from  the  material 
toward  the  abstract,  the  ideal,  the  spiritual.         *  * 

The  course  of  astronomic  science  has  thus  been  on  a 
vast  scale  to  withdraw  attention  from  the  material  and 
sensible,  and  to  fix  it  upon  the  invisible  and  super-sen- 
suous. It  has  shown  that  a  pure  principle  forms  the 
immaterial  foundation  of  the  universe.  From  the 
baldest  materiality  we  rise  at  last  to  a  truth  of  the  spirit 
world,  of  so  exalted  an  order  that  it  has  been  said  *  to 
connect  the  mind  of  man  with  the  spirit  of  God.'  *  * 
Scientific  inquiries  are  becoming  less  and  less  questions 
of  matter,  and  more  and  more  questions  of  force ;  ma- 
terial ideas  are  giving  place  to  djmamical  ideas.  While 
the  great  agencies  of  change  with  which  it  is  the  business 
of  science  to  deal — heat,  light,  electricity,  magnetism, 
and  affinity,  have  been  formerly  regarded  as  kinds  of 
matter,  *  imponderable  elements,'  in  distinction  from 
other  material  elements,  these  notions  must  now  be  re- 
garded as  outgrown  and  abandoned,  and  in  their  place 
we  have  an  order  of  purely  immaterial  forces.  *  * 
Star  and  nerve-tissue  are  parts  of  the  same  system — 
steUar  and  nervous  forces  are  correlated.  Nay,  more : 
sensation  awakens  thought,  and  kindles  emotion,  so 
that  this  wondrous  dynamic  chain  binds  into  living 
unity  the  realms  of  matter  and  mind  through  measure- 


88  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

less  amplitudes  of  space  and  time "  (Correlation  and 
Conservation  of  Forces,  pp.  11,,  12,  41). 

Mr.  Youmans  here  speaks  for  modern  science,  as 
advocated  by  many  of  its  reliable  patrons,  cultivators 
and  masters ;  though  it  may  not  be  representing  the 
conclusions  of  all  the  leading  naturalists.  He  has 
stepped  aside,  for  the  moment,  from  the  discussion  of 
science  itself  to  make  this  incidental  statement  of  his 
conclusion,  while  not  all  others,  so  far  as  I  know,  have 
done  so.  That  they  might  make  similar  statements, 
when  off  duty,  would  be  true  of  some,  and  has  been, 
and  probably  would  be,  of  the  large  majority  of  them. 
Nothing  they  have  said,  so  far  as  I  can  recall,  with  per- 
haps a  very  few  exceptions,  would  be  construed  into 
dissent. 

Prof.  Tyndall,  without  question  well  at  the  head  of 
physical  philosophy  both  as  a  theorist  and  a  demonstra- 
tor, having  furnished  to  the  world  more  thorough  proof 
of  the  conservation  and  correlation  doctrine  than  any 
other,  speaking  of  the  transmission  of  light  by  means 
of  the  luminiferous  ether,  from  the  glowing  platinum 
wire  across  the  space  to  the  eye,  and  thence  through 
the  humors  of  that  organ,  impinging  upon  the  nervous 
coating  of  the  optic  nerve  to  produce  the  phenomenon 
of  sight,  says :  "  Up  to  this  point,  we  deal  with  pure 
mechanics ;  but  the  subsequent  translation  of  the  shock 
of  the  ethereal  waves  into  consciousness,  eludes  the 
analysis  of  science.  *  *  *  ^he  motion  thus 
imparted  is  transmitted  with  measurable,  and  not  very 
great,  velocity  to  the  brain,  where,  by  a  process  which 


THE    TENDENCY    OF    SCIENCE.  89 

science  does  not  even  tend  to  unravel,  the  tremor  of 
the  nervous  matter  is  converted  into  the  conscious  im- 
pression of  light  "  (On  Kadiation,  pp.  19,  11). 

Mr.  Tyndall's  statement  of  the  case  is  good  and  fair, 
characteristic  of  the  conscientious  scholar.  He  is 
brought,  by  scientific  research,  face  to  face  with  a  sub- 
stance which  is  wholly  beyond  the  domain  of  the  phys- 
ical, so  far  as  regards  physical  appliances  of  discovery. 
And  yet  there  is  no  fact  in  nature  more  apparent  than 
that  of  this  entity  into  which  the  objective  realities  have 
by  the  beam  of  light  been  thus  conveyed.  This  con- 
sciousness, so  seizing  and  utilizing  the  picturing  impres- 
sions of  light  is,  finally,  the  very  self  of  being. 

The  substance  that  knows  is  itself  the  thing  to  which 
he  has  traced  the  phenomenon  of  light,  and  at  the  do- 
main of  which  he  was  obliged  to  drop  the  clue.  But  this 
is  not  all  there  is  to  this  fact.  This  super- sensuous  en- 
tity thus  beyond  the  reach  of  sensuous  tests,  is  a  force 
resident  in  certain  forms  of  physical  force  which  it  di- 
rects and  impels  as  in  the  case  of  bodily  movements.  It 
likewise  points  to  substances  embodying  those  forces, 
though  they  are  not  sufficiently  near,  as  to  state,  to  be 
brought  under  any  sensuous  test — substances  of  adequate 
refinement  for  the  immediate  residence  of  the  mental 
principle  of  consciousness, — "  spiritual, "  Mr.  Youmans 
might  denominate  it.  But  a  substance  is  not  without 
properties  characterizing  it.  And  properties  determine 
laws,  all  of  which  determine  a  world  and  a  universe, 
analagous  to  the  one  of  our  present  surrounding. 

However  little  direct  reference  may  be  found  made  to 


90  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

it,  the  fact  that  the  scientific  thought  of  the  day  is 
drifting  toward  the  recognition  of  a  spiritual  universe 
and  the  continuance  of  the  human  self  into  it  at  the  de- 
mise of  this  existence,  is  very  clear.  While,  too,  by  the 
clearness  of  the  accepted  facts  of  the  science  of  to-day 
on  which  these  conclusions  are  based,  there  is  hardly  a 
conceivable  chance  that  the  tendency  will  ever  decline, 
but  will  rather  all  the  while  increase.  The  extreme 
views  of  evolution,  that  life  is  but  a  state  of  mineral 
attainment,  and  that  to  its  accidental  shiftings  all  its 
diversities  and  families  are  due,  also  are  received  with 
more  caution,  and  on  more  reflection  are  being  more 
commonly  qualified  by  their  patrons.  Hence,  not  only 
may  we  look  presently  to  see  men  most  eminent  in 
science  openly  favoring,  as  a  matter  of  science,  a  future 
life  for  man,  but  favoring,  also,  special  designs  by  an 
Omnipotent  Mind,  in  the  origin  of  organisms. 

Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter,  in  a  note  appended  to  a  recent 
paper  on  "  Charles  Darwin  :  His  Life  and  Work, "  in  the 
"  Modern  Keview  "  of  July,  1882,  expresses  his  dissent 
from  this  school  of  evolutionists  as  follows  :  "  It  is,  I 
think,  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  some  of  the  more 
ardent  advocates  of  the  evolution  doctrine  are  contin- 
ually (by  neglect  of  this  important  distinction),  leading 
their  disciples  to  look  at  '  natural  selection '  as  the 
cause  of  particular  adaptations  of  structure  to  function ; 
whereas  it  simply  expresses  the  fact  that  the  creatures 
in  whom  these  adaptations  had  come  to  exist,  would  be 
the  fittest  to  survive,  and  would  be  likely  to  transmit 
them  hereditarily.  How  they  came  to  exist,  natural 
selection  tends  not  in  the  least  to  explain  "  (p.  516). 


THE    TENDENCY    OF    SCIENCE.  91 

I  close  this  chapter  by  an  appropriate  quotation  from 
Prof.  Winchell,  a  wide  and  favorably  known  writer  on 
natural  sciences:  "The  unseen  world  is  destined  to 
become  like  a  newly  discovered  continent.  We  shall 
visit  it ;  we  shall  hold  communication  with  it ;  we  shall 
wonder  how  so  many  thousands  of  years  could  have 
passed  without  our  being  introduced  to  it"  (Sketches 
of  Creation,  p.  371). 


CHAPTEK  VI. 

Location  of  the  Spiritual  State. — Insensible  Worlds 
THAT  We  Know  of. — A  Universal  Mineral  Ether. 

AMONG  the  questions  concerning  a  future  life,  the 
following  are  of  frequent  occurrence:  Where  is 
that  world  located?  Is  it  of  a  palpable  nature?  What 
does  it  resemble  ?  What  are  human  appearances,  habits 
and  occupations  ?  The  answers  to  some  of  these  may 
be  given  with  much  confidence,  based  on  the  most  ob- 
vious reasons ;  others  must  be  left  to  inferences  from 
obscure  data,  of  little  more  than  conjecture.  To  the 
consideration  of  the  first  of  these  the  present  chapter  is 
devoted ;  the  others  will  be  reserved  for  their  appropri- 
ate place  farther  along  in  the  book. 

In  respect  to  location,  we  may  first  point  out  the  pos- 
sibilities, and  then  what  are  the  necessities,  of  such  a 
state  as  that  to  which  the  intellect,  the  senses  and  the 
passions  are  suited.  The  latter  must  also  be  reserved 
for  the  proper  place  farther  along.  In  order  to  ascertain 
what  states  may  possibly  exist  to  serve  for  the  abode  of  the 
spirit,  we  must  see  what  surrounding  nature  consists  of, 
— how  far  it  extends  and  what  its  laws  and  principles 
provide  for ;  for  however  remote  from  this  body  of  phys- 
ical existence  the  qualities  of  that  other  existence  may 

92 


LOCATION    OF    SPIKITUAL    STATE.  93 

place  it,  the  two  states  are  connected  and  reciprocate  in 
the  one  common  system  of  cause  and  effect.  Hence  the 
spiritual  is  to  be  traced  from  the  physical  by  the  employ- 
ment of  the  ordinary  intellect  of  man  directed  toward 
the  spiritual.  And  reflecting  upon  the  surprising  dis- 
closures nature  is  all  the  time  rendering  to  persistent 
genius,  one  becomes  readily  prepared  to  see  that  in 
variety  of  states  nature  is  exhaustless.  Worlds  may 
exist  within  worlds,  and,  without  impinging,  occupy  the 
same  space.  And  thus  planes  of  existence  in  uni- 
versal extent,  as  to  realization  separate,  but  in  space 
identical,  may  be  multiplied  to  infinity. 

That  the  same  cup  might  at  the  same  moment  of 
time  be  many  times  filled  by  as  many  substances  of  un- 
like properties,  or  unlike  phases  of  the  same  properties, 
is  by  no  means  difficult  to  understand,  when  we  see  that 
of  substances  so  nearly  alike  as  water,  salt,  sugar,  and 
alcohol,  the  volume  of  water  is  not  augmented  by  add- 
ing thereto  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  other  ele- 
ments in  the  order  of  the  fineness  of  their  ultimate 
particles.  Glass  is  less  porous  than  wood,  yet  will 
transmit  visible  light,  which  wood  will  not.  Wood,  how- 
ever, will  transmit  electricity  which  glass  will  not. 
Both  will  transmit  terrestrial  magnetism  which  iron 
will  not ;  while  with  more  or  less  freedom  either  will 
transmit  heat.  This  unlikeness  of  effects  is  owing  to  a 
corresponding  unlikeness  of  properties  in  these  sub- 
stances. 

SUBSTANCES  OF  UNLIKE!  PROPERTIES. 

Wherein  the  properties   are  not  common  or  are  es- 


94  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

sentially  unlike,  the  one  substance  is  a  nonentity  to  the 
other.  Glass,  so  far  as  it  is  transparent,  is  to  the  lu- 
miniferous  ether  nihil.  It  is  not  resisted,  not  impressed 
by  it,  hence  to  it  is  vacuous.  Between  the  magnetic  poles 
the  diamond  is  practically  a  non-existence.  As  to  the  sub- 
stance that  plies  between  the  points  of  the  needles,  the 
interlying  adamant  offers  no  resistance,  occupies  no 
space  and  excludes  nothing.  Between  the  substance 
which  draws  the  needle  to  the  earth's  pole  and  that  of 
the  cohesive  attraction  in  the  diamond  itself,  which 
grasps  the  ultimate  particles  of  an  impalpable  gas  and 
binds  them  into  a  mass  of  unrivaled  hardness,  there  is 
an  analogy  and  a  distant  relation,  but  they  are  so 
wanting  in  common  properties  as  to  be  essentially  vacu- 
ous to  each  other. 

Substances,  therefore,  may  occupy  the  same  space 
simultaneously,  in  proportion  as  they  are  wanting  in 
common  properties  or  the  same  properties  are  affected 
by  essentially  unlike  qualities.  The  variety  of  sub- 
stances wanting  in  common  properties,  it  is  seen  may  be 
without  limit ;  but  the  principle  of  their  interlying  one 
another,  without  impinging,  is  definitely  known  by  the  few 
illustrations  cited.  Within  the  same  infinite  space  there 
may  be  universe  within  universe  infinite  in  number, 
each  complete  and  substantial  within  itself — ^the  ex- 
treme ones  having  little  in  common,  and  connecting 
mainly  through  those  filling  the  immense  disparity 
between. 

The  use  of  the  common  terms  "high"  and  "low," 
"  far  "  and  "  near, "  is  in  reference  to  extension  in  space 


LOCATION    OF    SPIEITUAL    STATE.  95 

upward,  do^vnward  or  lateral ;  but  there  are  extensions 
that  do  not  involve  external  or  visible  space,  which  like- 
wise may  be  infinite.  The  common  grades  in  the  order 
of  nature  indicate  this.  A  few  yards  of  coarse  yarn 
may  fill  the  spool  it  would  require  hundreds  of  yards  of 
thread  to  fill,  and  that  would  perhaps  contain  as  many 
miles  of  the  fibre  of  silk.  Of  two  skulls  equally  spacious, 
one  may  contain  a  thousand-fold  more  extent  of  nerve 
fibre  than  the  other.  And  without  enlarging  the  cranium 
the  same  brain  may  be  immensely  extended  by  years  of 
healthful  mental  and  moral  culture.  From  its  extreme 
ignorance  to  its  extreme  enlightenment  the  mind  may 
have,  in  that  same  skull,  traveled  many  great  distances 
and  looked  upon  many  grades  of  attainment.  And 
though  there  may  be  conveniences  to  facilitate  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  mind  from  one  state  of  intelligence  to 
another  or  one  state  of  refinement  to  another,  without 
much  personal  effort,  as  railways  and  steamships  facili- 
tate travel  from  one  place  to  another  to  the  utmost 
point  of  the  earth,  distance  is  overcome  in  the  one  case 
as  truly  as  in  the  other.  However  in  the  one  case  it  is 
done  by  change  of  location,  in  the  other,  by  change  of 
states  within  the  same  cranial  limits. 

Distance  in  our  visible  state  is  denoted  by  measure- 
ment of  space,  because  of  the  mutual  impenetrability  of 
substances  having  common  properties.  Such  substances 
must  lie  outside  of  each  other,  and  thus  impress  the 
mind  of  distance  as  the  interval  of  space  interlying 
localities.  And  so  common  has  been  this  apprehension, 
and  so  natural  is  it  to  the  dwellers  on  this  or  any  other 


96  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

plane  of  homogeneous  existence,  to  which  resident  senses 
must  always  be  adapted,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  obtain  an  impression  of  distance,  as  applied  to  a 
diversity  of  states  or  planes  of  unlike  substances,  irre- 
spective of  visible  space.  And  for  a  time,  plain,  legiti- 
mate proof  will,  of  necessity,  be  dimly  apparent  and  of 
little  force  upon  the  realizing  senses.  And  until  the 
evidence  has  been  often  repeated,  and  re-enforced  by 
many  experiences,  so  as  to  give  re-assurance  to  the  men- 
tal senses,  the  veils  before  the  invisible  world  will  lift 
slowly. 

LITERAL  DISTANCE    TRAVERSED  BY  MIND. 

Time,  space  and  substance  are  fundamental  realities, 
and  are  apprehended  by  any  appreciable  measure  of  in- 
telligence, though  never  wholly  comprehended.  Time 
is  the  measure  of  duration  as  applied  to  substance  at 
rest  or  in  motion.  Joined  with  substance  in  motion  it 
is  one  of  the  measures  of  distance.  The  remotenesses  of 
states  of  substance  pertaining  to  thought  or  to  sense, 
are  approximately  to  be  judged  by  the  time  consumed  in 
the  passage  from  one  to  the  other.  From  the  absence 
of  any  mathematical  instruments  applicable  to  such 
states,  their  measurement  must  lack  the  accuracy  of 
the  surveyor  or  the  astronomer.  But  the  engineer  who 
knows  the  fleetness  of  his  engine,  has  some  idea  of  his 
whereabouts  by  consulting  his  chronometer.  Even  yet 
there  are  people  who  judge  of  distance  only  by  the  time 
consumed  in  traveling.  So,  in  the  progress  from  one 
state  of  mentality,  morality,  or  spirituality,  to  another ; 


LOCATION    OF    SPIRITUAL    STATE.  97 

knowing  something  of  the  forces  employed,  the  inteiiying 
distance  may  be  judged  of  by  the  time  required  in  the 
transit.  Indefinite  as  the  measure  may  be,  the  disparity 
of  the  states  of  being  in  their  extremes  is  not  only 
known,  but  known  to  be  great,  involving  years,  and,  when 
considered  by  races,  centuries  of  advancement.  But, 
also,  the  attainment  of  each  higher  state  of  thought  and 
feeling  involves  the  attainment  of  corresponding  higher 
planes  of  substance. 

As  the  necessity  of  time  in  traveling  from  one  local- 
ity to  another,  is  proof  of  interlying  distance,  so,  in 
mental  and  spiritual  progress,  its  necessity  is  equally 
evidence  of  the  most  indubitable  character,  that  mind, 
with  its  attendant  life,  overcomes  literal  distance,  and 
advances  through  interlying  forces  that  resist  its  move- 
ment from  first  to  last.  Vacuous  space  would  dispense 
with  time.  The  luminiferous  ether  having  so  few  prop- 
erties in  common  with  ordinary  matter,  that  matter 
being  so  nearly  vacuous  to  it,  there  is  but  a  trace  of 
time  apparent  in  the  transmission  of  light — about  one 
second  only  in  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand 
miles.  But  the  traverse  of  the  mind  in  the  attainment 
of  knowledge  is  visibly  slow ;  and  so  with  moral  and 
spu'itual  refinement.  The  elements  that  impinge  on 
those  living  substances  and  resist  them  in  their  progress, 
are,  therefore,  very  real  and  palpable  to  them,  however 
unperceived  from  the  sensuous  state. 

There  are,  therefore,  two  ways  in  which  distance  is  to 
be  estimated  in  nature, — as  on  the  same  plane  and  as 
between  planes  or  states ;  that  which  results  from  sub- 

7 


98  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

stances  having  essentially  the  same  properties  and  may 
not  occupy  the  same  space — must  lie  outside  of  each 
other,  and  that  which  results  from  a  want  of  essentially 
the  same  properties  or  their  being  affected  by  the  same 
qualities,  in  which  case  substances,  without  impinging, 
might  lie  within  each  other  and  practically  occupy  the 
same  space, — the  distance  being  expressed  by  the  meas- 
ure of  their  unsameness.  With  the  first — objects  lying 
outside  and  apart  from  each  other — the  physical  eye 
renders  the  mind  familiar.  The  mass  of  human  minds 
realize  no  other.  The  second  is  apprehensible  by  the 
mental  senses  alone ;  being  effective  beyond  where  the 
physical  cease  to  avail.  And  to  render  it  familiar  or 
accessible  to  the  understanding,  this  mode  of  perception 
calls  for  culture ;  as  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  touch  and  the 
taste  are  brought  to  any  requisite  acuteness  and  strength 
by  training.  On  these  the  inductive  nature  must  depend 
in  bringing  to  consciousness  those  inner  realms  of  ele- 
ments lying  away  from  external  view,  and  finally  those 
also  which  constitute  the  spiritual  abode  of  man. 

In  respect  to  the  necessity  of  developing  the  realizing 
powers — the  quality  or  efficiency  of  mind  to  cause  ab- 
stract principles  to  definitely  stand  forth  to  view,  and 
to  satisfactorily  see  the  facts  and  substance  of  inner 
nature,  to  which  I  have  referred  in  a  previous  chapter, 
the  eminent  scientist,  Mr.  Tyndall,  bears  important 
testimony,  which  I  take  pleasure  in  placing  before  the 
reader  in  this  place.  Mr.  Tyndall  says,  "The  life 
of  the  experimental  philosopher  is  twofold.  He  lives 
in  his  vocation  a  life  of  the  senses,  using  his  hands, 


LOCATION   OF    SPIEITUAL    STATE.  9^ 

eyes  and  ears  in  his  experiments,  but  such  a  question  as 
that  now  before  us  (light)  carries  him  beyond  the  margin 
of  the  senses.  He  cannot  consider,  much  less  answer, 
the  question,  'What  is  light?'  without  transporting 
himself  to  a  world  which  underlies  the  sensible  one, 
and  out  of  which,  in  accordance  with  rigid  law,  all  op- 
tical phenomena  spring.  To  realize  this  sub-sensible 
world,  if  I  may  so  use  the  term,  the  mind  must  possess 
a  certain  pictorial  power,  thus  to  visualize  the  invisible. 
It  must  be  able  to  form  definite  images  of  the  things 
which  that  sub-sensible  world  contains,  and  to  say  that 
if  such  and  such  a  state  of  things  exists  in  that  world, 
then  the  phenomena  which  appear  in  ours  must,  of 
necessity,  grow  out  of  this  state  of  things  "  (Lectures  in 
America,  p.  34).  Hence,  not  alone  to  those  who  would 
follow  mental  and  spiritual  forces  into  the  unseen 
regions  is  this  reliance  on  mental  vision  and  power  of 
mental  construction  a  necessity ;  the  student  of  physics 
needs  it  also  in  a  measure,  if  not  in  as  much  efficiency. 
The  great  discoveries  of  the  world  were  all  delayed 
tni  the  arrival  of  this  attainment  to  the  mind  of  man 
in  sufficient  force.  Apples  had  been  seen  falling  for 
more  than  five  thousand  years  before  the  inductive  mind 
of  Newton  grasped  the  phenomenon  and  from  it  pro- 
ceeded to  develop  the  foundation  principles  of  the  stellar 
universe,  reducing  astronomy  to  a  science  as  palpable 
as  that  of  architecture.  The  force  that  moves  toward 
the  sun,  and  that  which  moves  from  it,  by  which  the 
parent  orb  adjusts  every  planet,  and  determines  its 
fleetness  on  its  orbit,  are  no  less  real  substances  than 


100  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

are  the  iron  beams  of  the  great  crane  which  carries  so 
easily  about  it  its  tons  of  metal  or  rock,  dependent  at 
arm's  length.  In  one  case  the  forces  are  not  indicated 
to  the  physical  eye ;  the  physical  eye  directed  toward 
them  rests  on  vacuity.  In  the  other  case  force  is  indi- 
cated by  the  iron  mask  in  which  it  is  embodied.  In 
"both,  and  in  all  cases,  it  is  visible  to  the  mental  eye 
alone.  And  while  with  the  great  telescope  the  astrono- 
mer may  fill  his  soul  with  the  grandeur  of  the  great 
material  worlds  that  before  him  swim  in  the  great 
spaces,  there  is,  in  the  same  locality  traversed  by  the 
telescope,  the  universe  of  substance  embodying  the  forces 
on  which  these  masses  of  matter  in  this  wonderful  ex- 
hibition rest,  to  which  the  telescope  and  the  microscope 
are  totally  blind. 

The  most  abundant  of  the  elemental  substances  sur- 
rounding the  existence  of  man,  is  oxygen,  constituting 
one-half  of  the  ponderable  part  of  the  globe,  eight- 
ninths  of  the  water  by  weight,  and  a  fifth  part  of  the 
air  we  breathe.  It  is  universally  present  with  man :  an 
indispensable  ingredient  in  all  the  food  he  eats,  the 
water  he  drinks  and  the  air  he  breathes.  And  yet  its 
existence  had  not  entered  into  human  knowledge  till  Dr. 
Priestly's  discovery  of  it  so  recently  as  1774.  Tasteless, 
colorless,  odorless,  and  impalpable,  it  was  constantly 
released  in  chemical  processes,  undetected  by  the  senses 
to  which  those  properties  are  necessary  for  recognition. 
This  brings  us  to  see  how  small  are  the  limits  to  which 
our  senses  would  restrict  us,  and  how  soon,  going  in 
whatever  direction  we  choose  in  science,  we  must  rely 
wholly  on  the  mental  vision — the  inductive  eye. 


LOCATION    OF    SPIKITUAL    STATE.  101 

Chemistry,  the  basic  physical  science,  illustrates  in 
every  process  that  the  physical  world  is  not  only  a  com- 
posite unit  of  many  elements,  but  that  underlying  these 
are  endless  systems  of  forces,  the  evidences  of  worlds 
of  elements  lying  beyond  the  sensuous  state.     In  a  work 
of  this  kind,  extended  reference  to  this  science  is  not 
essential.     To  the  ordinary  understanding  the  impor- 
tant truth  may  be  fully  set  forth  by  a  few  illustrations, 
without  going  far  into  details.     I  take  a  piece  of  ice ; 
it  is  mineral  as  truly  as  stone  or  metal  and  is  capable 
of  a  large  measure  of  resistance.     I  apply  a  low  degree 
of  heat  to  it ;  it  is  changed  to  the  form  of  water.     I  in- 
crease the  heat,  and  it  is  palpable  vapor.     I  apply  more 
heat,  and  it  is  wholly  invisible.     It  is  the  same  sub- 
stance, however ;  and,  but  for  the  relaxing  influence  of 
heat  on  the  centripetal  force  of  its  ultimate  atoms,  it 
would  have  continued  its  solidity.     It  is  the  same  com- 
pound gas, — condensed  in  the  first  case  and  rarified  in 
the  second ;  capable  of  strong  resistance  in  the  first  state, 
in  the  second  it  is  impalpable ;  at  one  time  it  is  visible, 
and  invisible  at  the  other.     And  so  the  piled-up  mount- 
ains of  ice  at  the  poles  may  be  regarded  as  immense 
volumes  of   gas  bound  down  and  solidified  by  frost; 
while,  under  a  few  degrees  less  of  frost,  another  volume 
of    the  same  gas,   in   the  state  of    water, — somewhat 
between  the  solid  and  volitant  states — is  rolling  about  in 
the  external  cavities  of  the  earth,  as  oceans,  seas,  lakes, 
and    rivers.     With   a   few   degrees    of    yet   less   frost, 
another  volume  of  the  same  is  seen  drifting  in  the  sky 
overhead,  in  the  form  of  clouds ;  and  with  a  yet  less 


102  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

measure  of  cold,  a  fourth  state  of  this  gas  may  be  de- 
tected as  invisibly  suspended  in  the  transparent  atmos- 
phere about  us. 

Eut  there  is  no  substance  that  may  not  in  like  manner 
be  resolved  into  invisibility.  We  watch  the  process  of 
a  bar  of  steel,  as  palpable  an  object  as  could  be  referred 
to,  under  the  influence  of  heat.  At  first  it  becomes  red, 
then  white,  then  finally  it  disappears  in  flame  and  is 
lost  to  view.  The  human  body  itself,  fluids,  flesh  and 
bones,  is  likewise  common  material,  and  constitutes  no 
exception  to  the  rule  of  common  resolvability.  It  is 
held  in  the  visible  state  and  made  thus  serviceable  to 
its  wonderful  inhabitant,  by  simply  that  one  great  con- 
densing agent,  inter-atomical  centripetal  force.  Let 
that  be  relaxed  by  the  touch  of  the  proper  countervail- 
ing force,  and  the  frail  house  of  the  soul,  too,  is  van- 
ished from  sight. 

No  part  of  the  mineral  universe  is  an  exception,  it  is 
perfectly  safe  to  say.  The  mental  eye  is  even  now  look- 
ing upon  all  as  a  transparency. 

LOCATION    OF    THE    SPIBIT    WORLD. 

Then  as  to  where  the  spirit  world  may  be  located  in 
space,  it  may  be  said  that  no  substance  essentially  unlike 
it  in  properties  or  their  qualities,  will  interfere  with  its 
existence  anjrwhere.  Our  world  and  that,  or  a  world  of 
that  state,  may  occupy  the  same  space.  That  in  space 
the  spiritual  universe  is  identical  with  the  physical,  is 
unavoidable.  The  question  can  only  be.  Do  the  worlds, 
of  whatever  character,  of  the  spiritual  universe,   cor- 


LOCATION    OF    SPIKITUAL    STATE.  103 

respond  in  location  with  those  of  the  physical  ?  Are  its 
inhabited  centers  identical  in  space  with  those  that  sus- 
tain the  residents  of  flesh  ?  Admitting  the  possibility 
that  the  spirit  worlds  are  located  in  the  spaces  interly- 
ing  the  mineral  worlds,  there  are  special  reasons  for 
answering  in  the  affirmative.  While  the  outlying  spaces 
are  entirely  occupied  by  substances  cognate  with  those 
of  the  visible  state,  giving  passage  to  light  and  the  at- 
tractive forces  that  incessantly  move  between  worlds 
and  on  which  the  immense  stellar  structure  rests, 
the  spiritual,  which  is  like  continuous,  must  be  there 
as  well.  But  in  the  places  where  are  gathered  and  or- 
ganized into  shapely,  lovely  worlds,  out  of  their  nascent 
state,  the  elements  from  vast  surrounding  areas — where 
life,  spirit  and  mind  are  revealed  in  connection  with 
mineral  forms,  as  seen  in  this  world,  and  which  seem 
improbable  save  in  such  aggregations, — there,  too,  would 
the  finger  of  expectancy  point  as  the  location  of  the  cor- 
responding spirit  world — the  immediate  abode  of  the  soul 
that  has  passed  beyond  the  flesh.  The  immediate  abode ; 
not  that  anything  appears  that  would  suggest  a  final 
retention  to  one  locality — that  an  endless  life  endlessly 
requiring  scenic  inspirations  should  be  withheld  from 
going  abroad  through  the  splendors  of  a  universe  of 
that  character. 

But,  however  intimately  the  states  may  combine  in 
location,  and  inseparable  as  the  two  great  departments  of 
being  may  finally  be  as  universal  substances,  a  particular 
physical  world  would  hardly  be  a  necessity  to  a  correspond- 
ing spiritual  world,  any  more  than  that  a  spiritual  body  is 


104  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

permanently  dependent  on  that  which  is  earthly.  Eather 
as  the  physical  body  dies  and  goes  into  re-distribution 
with  the  elements  whence  it  originated,  so  might  the 
earth  in  the  long  ages  to  come,  or  sooner,  be  retaken  by 
the  ever-flowing  currents  passing  by  and  through  it,  to 
be  drifted  asunder  and  into  new  arrangements,  or  be 
permanently  sundered,  particle  from  particle.  Claims 
of  such,  however  respectably  maintained,  are  founded 
on  nothing  better  than  the  unqualified  fact  of  never 
ceasing  change  itself.  Yet,  the  world  was  once  without 
living  forms  and  so,  also,  may  pass  on  again  into  condi- 
tions fatal  to  their  existence. 

The  question  of  immortality  is  not  in  the  least  affected 
by  the  shifting  character  of  external  nature — the  form- 
ation or  the  destruction  of  material  worlds.  However 
the  spiritual  world  may  be  characterized  by  shifting 
scenes,  obedient  to  the  laws  of  its  own  elements,  the 
destruction  of  the  physical  world  would  not  affect  the 
spiritual  as  much  as  a  thunderstorm  on  Jupiter  would 
the  atmosphere  of  our  planet,  when  we  come  to  consider 
the  great  disparity  that  must  lie  between  the  two  orders 
of  substances. 

The  old-time  Christian  thought  associated  the  world 
of  the  blest  with  the  upper  atmosphere  or  far  beyond 
somewhere.  This  idea  was  practicable  enough  till  the 
shape  and  motion  of  the  earth  were  ascertained.  Then 
to  the  intelligent  Christian  what  was  above  at  the  even- 
ing prayer  was  below  at  the  morning ;  and  the  saints, 
who  were  at  one  time  in  the  supposed  direction  of 
heaven,  were,  at  another  time,  in  the  supposed  direction 


T^OCATION    OF    SPIRITUAL    STATE.  105 

of  its  opposite.  With  much  propriety,  however,  do  we 
in  our  time  and  ever,  use  the  term  high  to  denote  the 
exalted  state — the  most  refined  ever  being  the  superior. 
The  scale  running  from  the  immature  to  the  mature. 
As  when  we  speak  of  high  intelligence,  high  morality 
or  high  civilization,  we  have  reference  to  extensive 
attainments  in  these  elements  of  being.  In  using  the 
phrase,  "  The  High  and  Holy  One, "  reference  is  had  to 
the  Deity,  who  is  omnipresent  as  to  location,  and  is  as 
much  below  as  above ;  but  in  excellence  being  the  infi- 
nite superior,  is  only  above.  So  likewise  "  the  highest 
heaven, "  often  referred  to  in  religious  discourse,  is  to  be 
understood  as  the  state  of  the  highest  perfections  of 
life. 

But  while  there  is  ample  room  for  a  world  for  the  im^ 
mortals  leaving  this  world,  anywhere  where  nature  itself 
may  be  found,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  importance  at- 
taches to  its  location.  In  relation  to  universal  space, 
no  one  can  tell  where  our  earth  is  located.  Yet  that 
fact  does  not  in  the  least  disturb  our  enjoyment  of  its 
delightful  apartments,  or  afford  cause  for  homesickness. 
It  is  more  to  our  purpose  to  know  what  and  how  it  is 
than  where  it  is. 

This  chapter  would  hardly  be  complete  without  some 
special  reference  to  the  primary  state  of  the  substance 
we  call  mineral.  By  common  consent  the  ultimate 
analysis  of  matter  is  a  present  and,  seemingly,  a  final 
impossibility.  Back  of  the  impalpable  state  is  the  ir- 
resolvable aggregate  of  substances,  permanently  inac- 
cessible to  all  physical  means  of  apprehension.     And 


106  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

yet  while  the  analysis  of  science  is  at  this  point  unable 
to  proceed,  the  mind,  by  means  of  its  inductive  powers, 
may  extend  the  search  far  toward  what  may  be  settled 
as  its  primal  form;  thus  attaining  conclusions  by  a 
process  hardly  less  reliable  than  that  of  sensuous 
demonstration  itself.  The  known  forms  of  substances, 
as  rocks  and  metals,  are  plainly  the  result  of  adequate 
causes,  to  be  seen  in  the  properties  of  their  essences 
which  bring  them  into  crystallization,  under  favorable 
surroundings.  These  several  essences  point  back  to 
an  ulterior  oneness,  by  the  oneness  of  sympathy,  how- 
ever remote,  that  connects  them  all, — and  also  in  the 
fact  of  their  many  common  properties  and  strong  re- 
semblances. 

And,  incidentally,  from  this  it  seems  necessary  also, 
in  order  to  account  for  the  origin  of  these  forms,  to  re- 
sort to  the  theory  of  an  adequate  mind  presiding  over 
this  oneness,  and  by  special,  designing  volitions  imping- 
ing upon  it  the  special  modes  of  force  required  for  these 
forms, — ordaining  thus  the  constitution,  laws,  and  feat- 
ures of  nature,  as  they  appear  to  us. 

These  states  are  not  alone  inaccessible  to  the  facul- 
ties of  sense,  but  to  the  mental  eye  only  their  necessity 
is  visible.  As  infinity  is  known  and  talked  about  as 
familiarly  as  a  household  object,  and  yet  its  necessity 
is  the  nearest  approach  the  finite  mind  can  make  toward 
its  reality. 

However  their  origin,  the  mineral  universe  is  an  ag- 
gregation of  special  mineral  ethers  as  numerous  as  the 
several  kinds  of  substance  that  appear  in  nature.     And 


LOCATION    OF    SPIKITUAL    STATE.  107 

of  these,  again,  many  ethers  may  be  necessary  in  com- 
bination to  render  them  recognizable  objects.  To  each, 
also,  there  is  a  place  in  the  order  of  nature  that  no  othei 
supplies.  Each  is  a  link  in  the  chain  of  mineral  being 
that  may  nowhere  be  wholly  absent.  A  mineral  universe 
is  but  an  all-pervading  mineral  ether,  generalizing  all 
the  special  forms,  which,  under  favorable  circumstances, 
would  pass  into  crystallization  and  become  tangible, 
and  enter  into  the  composition  of  worlds,  but  otherwise 
would  remain  in  their  imponderable  states.  Then, 
though  there  might  be  no  rocks,  iron,  silver  or  gold  on 
another  planet,  their  ethers,  more  or  less  plentiful,  would 
be  there ;  while  our  own  earth  must  contain  many  ele- 
ments no  chemist  yet  has  found,  and  which  may  abound 
in  tangible  forms  on  other  spheres. 

This,  then,  is  the  external  surrounding  of  man  in  his 
present  state  of  living,  of  which  he  is  embodied,  of 
which  his  bodily  senses  are  organized,  to  the  perception 
of  which  they  are  adapted,  and  where  the  mind  performs 
its  first  evolutions.  From  it,  then,  let  us  proceed  to 
other  states  of  being  and  their  ethers  farther  inward. 


CHAPTEK    YII. 

Insensible  Worlds  that  We  Know  of,  Continued. — The 
Vegetable  Kealm. — A  Vegetable  Ether  Universal. 

THE  last  chapter  calls  attention  to  the  worlds  of  sub- 
stances lying  beyond  the  reach  of  the  external  senses, 
but  more  especially  those  of  the  mineral  kingdom,  and 
with  reference  to  ultimately  defining  the  location  of  the 
spiritual  state  and  abode  of  man.  Before  proceeding 
to  the  next  topic,  the  definition  of  the  word  "  mineral " 
should  be  given.  By  doing  so,  it  will  be  seen  quite  in- 
clusive of  all  sensuous  substances.  Prof.  Dana  observes 
under  the  head.  What  is  a  mineral?  *'It  has  been  ob- 
served that  Mineralogy,  the  third  branch  of  Natural 
History,  embraces  everything  in  nature  that  has  not 
life.  Is,  then,  every  different  thing  not  resulting  from 
life,  a  mineral  ?  Are  earth,  clay,  and  all  stones,  minerals  ? 
Is  water  mineral  7  All  the  materials  here  alluded  to 
properly  belong  to  the  mineral  series.  *  *  *  * 
Water  has  no  qualities  which  should  separate  it  from  the 
mineral  kingdom.  All  bodies  have  their  temperature  of 
fusion ;  lead  melts  at  612  deg.  F. ;  sulphur  at  226  deg.  F. ; 
water  at  32  deg. ;  mercury  at — 39.  No  difference,  there- 
fore, of  this  kind  can  limit  the  mineral  departments.  Ice 
is  as  properly  a  rock  as  limestone ;  and  were  the  tempera- 

108 


WHAT    IS    A    MINERAL?  10» 

ture  of  our  globe  but  a  little  lower  than  it  is,  we  would 
rarely  see  water  except  in  solid  crystal-like  masses  or 
layers.  Our  atmosphere,  and  all  gases  occurring  in 
nature,  belong  for  the  same  reason  to  the  mineral  king- 
dom. Several  of  the  gases  have  been  soKdified,  and 
we  can  not  doubt  that  at  some  specific  temperature  each 
might  be  made  solid.  *  *  A  mineral,  then,  is  any  sub- 
stance in  nature  not  organized  by  vitality,  and  having  a 
homogeneous  structure, 

"  The  Jirst  limitation  here  stated — not  organized  by 
vitality — excludes  all  living  structures,  or  such  as  have 
resulted  from  vital  powers ;  and  the  second — a  homoge- 
neous structure — excludes  all  mixtures  or  aggregates" 
(Manual  of  Mineralogy. -^pp.  14,  15). 

This  definition  of  mineral,  in  respect  to  a  distinction 
as  to  the  mineral  and  the  vegetable  and  animal  forms 
of  matter,  representing  also,  as  it  does,  the  common 
view  of  the  subject,  is  such  as  to  leave,  after  all,  aU  vis- 
ible existence  of  the  order  of  mineral  elements,  only 
that  in  one  instance  it  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the 
vital  forces,  and  in  the  other  it  has  not.  Vegetable 
matter  is  composed  of  the  substances  of  the  earth  and 
the  atmosphere,  and  may  be  resolved  back  again  into  the 
original  gases  and  ethers  from  which  it  was  evolved  by 
these  special  forces  styled  "  vital. "  Before  it  was  ap- 
propriated by  the  vegetable  it  was  in  its  gaseous  or 
ethereal  states,  and  might  have  been  reduced  to,  perhaps, 
corresponding  rocks  and  metals. 

Then,  associated  with  these  mineral  substances  or  ethers, 
are  to  be  seen,  by  the  individual  forms  representing  them, 


110  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

the  vital  elements  or  ethers,  but  higher  and  farther  inward 
on  the  grade  of  being,  the  lower  of  these  being  the  veg- 
etable. The  lovely  plant,  existing  partly  in  the  earth 
and  partly  in  the  air,  and  deriving  subsistence  from 
both,  represents  the  first  in  the  order  of  this  indefinitely 
numerous  series  of  universes  interlying  the  mineral. 

Arid  thus  it  is  seen  that  inner  from  and  beyond  our 
external  and  visible  surrounding,  there  is  a  state  with  a 
substance  of  very  unlike  and  superior  qualities.  It 
presents  not  only  much  greater  activity,  but  also  a 
species  of  instinct.  The  plants  that  are  standing  about 
my  table  as  silent  witnesses  to  my  labors,  as  to  all  that 
I  see  of  them,  are  minerals,  constructed  into  these  lovely 
forms  by  the  real  plants  operating  upon  them  from  the 
vegetable  state  within.  The  structures  are  easily  enough 
comprehended,  but  the  construction — the  putting  to- 
gether— by  these  adequate  internal  agents  from  within 
executing  the  work,  is  confessedly  a  superhuman  diffi- 
culty. They  are  too  orderly  to  occur  from  accident,  and 
too  much  operating  toward  ends  to  be  without  a  species 
of  sense.  The  symmetry  is  pleasing,  the  coloring  in 
richness  and  pattern  is  matchless ;  while  the  distilled 
odors  are  in  the  highest  measure  exhilarating.  But  all 
this,  so  far  as  chemistry  can  enlighten  us,  is  only  inert 
material,  owing  the  delightful  arrangements  to  vital  or- 
ganisms within  inaccessible  to  chemistry,  existing  as  the 
adequate  causes.  These  vital  individuals,  as  they  them- 
selves enlarge,  and  their  individual  needs  increase,  erect 
about  them  these  material  trellises,  enveloping  themselves 
with  myriad  prismatic  splendors  and  loading  the  adja- 


^  THE    VEGETABLE    KEALM.  Ill 

cent  atmosphere  with  the  most  enchanting  aromas.  "  I 
say  unto  you  that  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  ar- 
rayed like  one  of  these. "  And  for  the  incense  that  filled 
his  royal  apartments,  this  prince  was  indebted  to  the 
labors  of   these  lovely,  living  laboratories  of  nature. 

THE    PLANT    NOT    A    MINERAL    DEVELOPMENT. 

That  the  plant  is  not  due  to  a  phase  of  mineral  forces, 
or  a  spontaneous  production  from  that  kingdom,  is  made 
certain  by  several  well  recognized  facts :  The  soils  and 
atmospheres  most  suited  to  its  growth  are  unproductive 
till  the  living  germ  or  cell  is  properly  inserted.  Volu- 
minous speculations  concerning  spontaneous  generation 
have  failed  to  obviate  the  difficulty  which  this  single 
fact  interposes.  Though  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not 
finally  impossible,  to  determine  when  soil,  water  or  at- 
mosphere may  not  contain  some  form  of  living  germ 
which  extreme  heat  or  chemical  erosion  may  not  have 
destroyed,  the  facts  that  in  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions, vegetable  life  does  not  issue  from  the  soil  without 
^having  been  deposited  there,  and  that  from  it  it  is  in  no 
form  seen  originating,  are  strong  evidence  against  spon- 
taneous generation.  Also,  the  nature  of  vegetable  life, 
— descending  through  all  time  by  families  and  types,  is 
in  conflict  with  the  theory  of  its  production  from  the 
mineral  state.  The  properties  of  the  mineral  kingdom 
are  such  as  to  render  it  of  almost  interminable  variety ; 
and  the  vegetable,  to  be  the  product  of  the  mineral,  or 
even  to  be  primarily  dependent  on  it,  should  be  of  corre- 
sponding variety.     The  plowed  field,  instead  of  yielding 


112  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

vegetation  in  well  marked  types  and  families,  as  wheat, 
oats,  com,  apples,  grapes,  etc.,  should  issue  heteroge- 
neous mixtures  of  these,  somewhat  in  correspondence 
with  the  soils  producing  them.  If  the  typal  character- 
istics of  these  families  should  be  continuous,  maintain- 
ing their  typal  identities,  as  the  several  ingredient 
minerals  persistently  retain  their  elemental  identities, 
then  as  minerals  in  the  soils  are  aggregated  in  very  un- 
like mixtures,  so  the  vegetable  forms  resulting  from  them, 
should  be  found  in  corresponding  confusion, — various 
typal  characteristics  jumbled  into  the  same  individual 
product.  In  the  language  of  chemistry,  the  plant  might, 
accidentally,  in  one  example,  be  pure  wheat,  in  another, 
the  oatate  of  wheat  or  the  bicornate  of  wheat,  according 
to  the  combination  of  the  evolving  minerals  present. 
Unless  there  be  attributed  to  the  mineral,  ;per  se,  the 
voluntary  power  to  suppress  its  own  properties  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  requirements  of  this  family  or  typal 
persistence  in  plants,  the  last  probability  of  their  being 
forms  of  the  mineral  state,  disappears. 

It  could  be  of  no  avail  to  say  that  vegetable  life,  with 
its  forms  once  attained — evolved  as  we  see  it — is  now- 
advanced  to  the  superior  position  where,  by  an  inherent 
conservative  law  of  selective  subsistence,  and  by  repro- 
duction from  seed  or  other  form  of  cell,  it  maintains  its 
types,  and  is  quite  independent  of  any  originating  qual- 
ities of  the  mineral  compounds  from  which  it  is  subsisted. 
This  were  only  shifting  the  difficulty  to  a  more  pleasing 
distance,  without,  in  any  measure,  getting  rid  of  it !  Let  it 
be  admitted  that,  at  the  point  where  our  agriculture 


THE    VEGETABLE   REALM.  113 

takes  vegetable  life,  it  is  too  far  developed  to  be  any 
longer  susceptible  of  the  soil's  originating  qualities; 
then  we  need  only  to  go  back  to  the  alleged  beginning — 
to  protoplasm,  the  conversion  of  mineral  into  organic 
forms;  and  here  the  same  difficulty  presents  itself. 
Again,  it  requires  to  be  explained  why,  from  the  indis- 
criminate aggregates,  should  ascend  such  orderly  con- 
servative types?  And,  suppose  it  be  said  that  the 
ethers,  in  requisite  densities,  properly  formed  the  simple- 
slime  of  protoplasm ;  does  this  explain  why,  in  this  proper- 
assembling  of  elements,  parts  of  the  general  mass  are*, 
retained  and  other  parts  are  rejected,  in  such  precisely, 
suitable  measures  as  to  establish  even  the  mere  typal 
structures  or  embodiments,  saying  nothing  of  their  tend- 
ency to  persistence,  and  why  this  assembling,  itself 
takes  place  ? 

But  the  same  protoplasmic  process  is  present  in  all 
vital  forms,  in  the  highest  as  truly  as  in  the  lowest. 
The  mineral  aliment  for  the  germ,  incased  about  it  in 
the  seed,  becomes  available  by  the  action  of  the  adja- 
cent elements  rendering  it  pulpy  and  viscid,  and  thus, 
suitable  to  be  wrought  into  cell-structure,  to  which  pur- 
pose it  becomes,  in  part,  appropriated  by  the  liberated 
life  of  the  incipient  plant.  Then,  the  same  state  of 
mineral  substance  relied  on  for  spontaneous  generation 
being  present  in  all  orders  of  vegetable  production,  spon- 
taneity, if  true  at  all,  should  be  true  and  visible  everywhere- 
— as  well  in  our  cultivated  fields  as  on  sea  bottoms  I' 
The  aliments  of  the  same  seeda^  instead  of  being  re^ 

8 


114  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

stricted  to  the  production  of  but  the  one  type,  should 
produce  in  variety,  as  the  constituents  of  the  aliment 
could  hardly  in  any  two  cases  be  wholly  the  same  or  of 
the  same  proportions,  and  the  excitants  are  never  exactly 
the  same. 

With  a  nearly  total  want  of  resemblance  between  the 
vital  and  mineral  forces,  an  apology  were  due  to  the 
reader  for  occupying  the  space  with  arguments  for  their 
separate  substances  and  planes  of  being,  but  for  claims 
of  the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation  that  have 
been  extensively  and  ingeniously  urged  upon  the  at- 
tention of  the  popular  mind.  From  what  is  obvious  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  their  relationship  is  scarcely  more 
than  that  of  the  builder  and  his  material. 

As  has  been  said,  the  facts  in  the  orderly  construction 
of  the  human  habitation,  in  which  the  builder  reaches 
forth  and  intelligently  selects  the  material  suited  to  his 
purpose,  correspond  well  with  the  facts  in  relation  to 
the  production  of  the  plant.  From  the  surrounding 
material  in  earth,  water  and  air,  this  instinctive  indi- 
vidual of  internal  vegetable  life,  extending  its  invisible 
hands,  selects  and  appropriates  the  elements  needed  in 
constructing  its  requisite  body ;  proceeding  in  this  way 
until  the  internal — the  plant  itself — has  attained  the 
full  development  of  its  individual  nature. 

By  this  it  is  not  only  seen  that  the  vegetable  subjects 
the  mineral,  but  that  it  is  all  the  time  preceding  its  min- 
eralization,— that  it  is  a  substance  affected  with  typal 
instincts  and  forces,  and  is  as  truly,  though  not  as  com- 
pletely, independent  of  the  elements  which  it  selects  as 


THE    VEGETABLE    KEALM.  115 

is  the  mason  of  the  stones  which  he  builds  about  him- 
self into  a  wall. 

It  undergoes  modification  in  great  variety,  from  the 
mineral  state.  When  growing  in  localities  differing  in. 
soils  and  temperatures,  it  varies  correspondingly  in 
structure  and  habit.  But  that  these  conditions  have 
not  influenced  the  typal  form  itself,  is  manifest  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  not  any  more  available  for  hybridizing 
with  other  plants  than  before.  It  has  not  left  its  orbit 
and  come  nearer  to  others.  Its  relation  with  other 
plant  lives  is  left  wholly  unchanged.  All  that  is  ap- 
parent in  these  modifications  is  to  be  explained  by  ref- 
erence to  the  fact  that  its  development  is  amid 
surroundings  which  impinge  upon  it  favorably  or  un- 
favorably according  to  the  indications  of  the  special 
modes  of  growth  that  are  seen.  The  food  supplied  from 
soil  and  atmosphere  has  been  more  favorable  to  one  part 
of  the  organism  and  less  to  another,  according  to  how 
the  modification  has  tended. 

By  the  same  principle,  the  application  of  intelligent 
cultivation  enables  the  plant  to  display  qualities  and 
forms  quite  unknown  in  the  original  representatives  of 
its  family.  Like  man,  the  unaided  plant  is  never  at  its 
best. 

But,  however  such  changes  may  be  effected  in  it  by 
the  mineral  state,  each  family  must  be  regarded  as  a 
separate  form  of  its  general  life,  with  a  fixed  and  dis- 
tinct order  of  qualities,  which,  by  a  system  of  germina- 
tion, is  conveyed  along  from  generation  to  generation. 


116  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

the  tendency  always  being  to  enlarge  the  number  of 
its  representatives. 

IT    IS    UNIVERSALLY    PRESENT. 

Its  universal  presence  is  assured  by  what  assures  a 
universal  mineral  presence :  na.mely,  its  forces!  These 
are  possible  only  with  a  universal  wholeness  of  the  sub- 
stances embodying  them !  "  Nature  abhors  a  vacuum  " 
in  one  order  of  substance  no  more  than  in  that  of 
another.  It  so  abhors  because  of  its  universal  tendency 
to  equilibrium.  The  vegetable  element,  with  its  typal 
lines,  in  the  process  of  developing  its  forms  or  in  la- 
tency waiting,  in  rareness  or  profusion,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  extending  universally — co-extending  with  the 
mineral  and  spiritual  universes. 

Hence,  on  every  mineral  world,  swimming  in  the  se- 
rum of  infinite  space,  of  requisite  mineral  representation, 
and  of  proper  density  and  temperature,  vegetation  may 
safely  be  supposed  to  be  decking  the  surface  of  nature 
as  on  our  own.  Every  such  terrestrial  floor  throughout 
his  many  mansioned  house,  the  Great  Father  has  over- 
spread with  this  living  beauty. 

VEGETABLE    IN    THE    SPIRITUAL  STATE    POSSIBLE. 

But  there  is  yet  another  view  to  be  sought  of  this 
vegetable  universe ;  not  for  anything  that  it  might  con- 
tribute to  the  theory  of  it  as  a  separate  entity,  but  with 
a  purpose  to  approximate  an  understanding  as  to  how 
it  may  be  related  with  the  spiritual  side  of  being.  For 
concluding  that,  as  shown,  it  is  not  identical  with  the 


THE    VEGETABLE    REALM.  117 

mineral,  through  which  it  manifests  its  existence,  the 
question  to  one  who  is  in  love  with  this  form  of  nature, 
may  readily  occur,  May  not  this  vegetable  soul  reveal 
itself  on  the  spiritual  side  as  well,  and  perhaps  in  still 
more  lovely  ways  and  forms  ?  Part  of  what  may  con- 
stitute all  the  answer  that  may  be  safely  given  to  this, 
is  deferred  till  farther  along. 

Knowing  why  or  from  what  this  element  makes  its 
appearance  in  the  present  visible  state,  and  knowing 
also  what  must  be  the  qualities  of  substance  in  the 
spiritual  realm,  one  might  legitimately  judge  of  the 
probability  of  the  vegetable  manifesting  itself  there  as 
well.  The  most  probable  way  of  accounting  for  its 
presence  here  is  to  consider  that  its  requirements  bring 
it, — ^that  finding  in  these  material  elements  a  required 
subsistence  and  means  of  development,  it  appropriates 
them  to  its  use.  Should  then  the  substances  of  the 
spirit  state  correspondingly  afford  supplies  to  the  nature 
of  any  of  its  forms,  it  would  follow  that  they,  in  such 
modes  of  life  as  would  harmonize  with  the  peculiarities 
of  that  state,  would  be  represented  there.  In  modes  of 
being,  human  life  conforms  to  the  peculiarities  of  the 
present  state,  and  will,  it  may  be  assumed,  have  no 
trouble  in  appearing  even  more  perfectly  in  the  next, 
however  unlike  this  it  may  be.  So,  likewise,  might  the 
vital  forces  of  the  vegetable  exhibit  extreme  variations 
in  their  modes  of  manifestation  in  the  same  two  states 
in  which  man  is  represented ;  and  without  the  loss  or 
change  of  identity.  That  it  operates  on  this  mineral 
side  for  the  sake  of  subsisting  and  maturing  itself,  may 


118  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

"be  true  to  a  limited  extent.  That  is,  subsistence  and 
maturity  result  to  it  by  the  food  it  derives  from  the 
material  world.  But  when  we  consider  that  bodily  food 
does  not  assimilate  with  life  at  all — even  the  life  which 
it  sustains — but  only  acts  as  an  excitant  to  life  by  trans- 
ferring certain  forces  to  it  which  are  wholly  immaterial, 
we  no  longer  see  the  strict  necessity  of  mineral  food  to 
even  the  support  of  life,  per  se,  unless  we  show  that 
from  no  other  source  than  the  mineral  that  excitant 
may  proceed.  Appetite  does  not  call  for  additions  of 
elements  with  a  view  to  placing  them  into  life.  It  is 
more  like  the  mason  calling  for  brick  to  lay  them  into 
the  surrounding  wall,  when  he  is  only  seeking  the  im- 
pressions of  comfort  the  house  supplies.  Or,  what  may 
more  clearly  illustrate,  the  electrician  who  needs  more 
electric  force  does  not  call*  for  more  electricity,  but  or- 
ders up  repairs  and  more  cups  to  his  battery.  The 
battery  is  but  the  bridge  over  the  interlacing  atoms  of 
which  that  certain  force  issues  to  impress  itself  upon 
the  adjacent  medium,  there  to  be  transformed  into  spe- 
cial modes  of  force  as  the  new  recipient  may  direct. 

This  is  precisely  the  office  of  the  material  body.  The 
ultimate  fibers  of  food  taken  into  the  system  in  response 
to  appetite,  go  only  into  the  formation  of  minute  cells — 
cups  of  batteries — for  delivering  force  upon  life  itself, 
or  upon  some  interlying  semi- vital  ether  which  conducts 
it  thither,  by  the  impulse  of  which  is  produced  the  sat- 
isfying sensation  of  vital  activity.  Not  a  single  min- 
eral fiber  or  atom  goes  beyond  the  cups,  some  of  which 


THE    VEGETABLE    REALM.  119 

are  barely,  though  distinctly,  visible  by  the  most  power- 
ful microscopic  aid. 

That  these  visible  cells  are  of  the  innermost  line,  im- 
mediately against  which  the  life  functions  are  arranged, 
it  is  at  present  neither  possible  nor  important  to  say. 
It  is,  however,  entirely  safe  to  say  that  while  their 
variety  is  necessarily  great,  answering  to  the  great  va- 
riety of  functional  wants,  beyond  where  the  utmost 
microscopic  power  is  effectual,  there  may  be  man^ 
classes  of  cells  much  more  diminutive,  which,  by  their 
special  natures,  are  delivering  special  impulses  an^ 
awakening  the  required  special  activities. 

Every  atom,  of  whatever  substance,  stops  in  or  within 
the  walls  of  a  cell.  Thence,  after  being  "  broken  down  " 
by  the  traversing  force,  it  returns  to  the  earth  as  it  was, 
to  be  followed  by  the  new  atom  taking  its  place,  in  turn 
to  be  also  broken  down  to  retake  its  place  among  the 
elements  of  its  kind. 

That  I  may  not  seem  to  the  casual  reader,  who  may 
not  have  followed  closely  the  researches  of  science  on 
this  point,  to  be  advancing  peculiar  views,  I  will  here 
insert  a  brief  quotation  from  Dr.  Wm.  B.  Carpenter, 
the  eminent  English  physiologist,  who  is  so  favorably 
known  throughout  the  educated  world,  especially  in  that 
branch  of  science.  The  quotation  is  from  a  chapter 
specially  devoted  to  this  subject,  and  given  to  the  world 
in  a  compilation  of  scientific  papers  edited  by  Prof.  E. 
L.  Youmans,  already  referred  to : 

"  Thus,  during  the  whole  life  of  the  animal,  the  or- 
ganism is  restoring  to  the  world  around   both  the  mate- 


120  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

rials  and  the  forces  which  it  draws  from  it ;  and,  after 
its  death,  this  restoration  is  completed,  as  in  plants,  by 
the  final  decomposition  of  its  substance"  (Correlation 
and  Conservation  of  Force,  p.  443). 

At  j&rst  reading  this  language  might  appear  to  affirm 
quite  too  much  for  the  purpose  for  which  I  have  here 
introduced  it.  But  the  reader  will  observe,  that  the 
professor  affirms  of  the  organism  exactly  what  I  have 
affirmed.  At  its  death  both  the  materials  and  the 
forces  which  the  organism  drew  from  the  world  are  re- 
turned to  it.  None  will  have  disappeared  into  and 
become  a  part  of  the  entity  which  evoked  and  wove 
them  into  form.  And  of  course  when  released  they  re- 
turn to  the  state  whence  they  were  taken;  as  the 
materials  of  the  ordinary  battery,  having  been  "  broken 
down  "  by  the  passage  of  force,  are,  together  with  their 
own  inhering  force,  returned  to  the  world  from  whence  they 
were  taken.  The  life  entity  itself,  however,  the  agent  in  the 
construction  of  the  plant  form,  not  having  been  of  this 
world,  could  not  return  to  it,  but  must,  at  this  death, 
return  back  on  its  own  side  of  nature,  a  continuous 
plant,  or  to  be  redistributed  with  the  ether  of  its  own 
elements,  possibly  to  reappear  in  new  individuals  of  its 
order. 

If,  then,  we  were  to  propose  to  answer  the  question 
suggested  by  this  train  of  thought.  May  this  vegetable 
ether  develop  any  of  its  types  on  the  spiritual  side  of 
nature,  to  contribute  a  floral  beauty  to  the  attractive- 
ness of  that  state?  we  would  need  only  to  consider 
T7hether   that   state   is  characterized   with  substances 


THE    VEGETABLE    KEALM.  121 

analogous  to  the  mineral ;  that  is,  of  an  inert,  passive 
quality,  which  might  afford  it  this  requisite  nourish- 
ment— the  passage  of  the  stimulant  impulses  that  it 
would  require  to  have  impinge  upon  itself  in  order  to 
excite  its  life  to  growth. 

The  slight  traces  of  semi-rational  instinct  that  ap- 
pear, are  to  be  referred  to  the  general  law  of  appetite  (not 
all  of  which,  however,  refers  to  material  food)  and  to  some 
extent  indicate  that  the  vegetable  has  means  of  gratifi- 
cation and  growth  which  do  not  necessarily  involve  the 
use  of  the  substances  of  the  mineral  state.  However, 
these  traces  are  too  obscure  for  data  on  which  to  rest 
any  decisive  observations.  Though  the  disposition  often 
seen  in  the  plant  to  seek  light,  warmth  and  water,  is  to 
be  classed  with  the  general  promptings  of  its  nature  to 
go  after  bodily  subsistence,  whether  that  be  mineral  or 
of  some  other  order  of  passive  existence.  But,  at  least, 
the  propagative  disposition,  in  which  is  something  of 
the  nature  of  the  selection  of  kind,  is  not  to  be  classed 
with  appetites  of  this  character.  It  is,  however,  the 
evidence  of  a  want,  the  supply  of  which  is  on  the  side 
of  its  own  domain,  and  which  is  a  principal  motive  in 
the  development  of  the  individual  life.  Also,  the  vege- 
table being  graded  between  the  mineral  and  animal 
states,  where  the  semblance  of  the  mineral  substance  is 
found  in  association  with  the  animal,  rational  or  irra- 
tional, the  presence  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  might 
well  be  expected. 

It  might,  also,  be  well  here  to  refer  briefly  to  the 
modes  of  vegetable  life  as  bearing  on  this  question. 


122  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

The  ordinary  plant  subsists  by  being  inserted  partly  in 
the  earth  and  partly  in  the  air, — very  few  being  more 
in  the  earth.  But  while  this  is  true  of  the  largest  num- 
ber, it  represents  only  a  portion  of  the  kingdom,  and  is 
not  at  all  universal.  And  of  these,  the  weight  of  their 
forms  impressing  their  bases  in  the  earth,  may  be  as- 
signed among  the  causes  of  their  taking  this  position, 
which,  being  habitual,  has  resulted  in  a  class  of  mouths 
that  are  suited  to  obtaining  nourishment  under  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground.  For,  granting  that  their  organi- 
zation unfits  them  for  any  other  mode,  there  is  meaning 
in  the  fact  that  the  rootlets  are  most  abundant  near  the 
surface,  where  the  soil  is  more  rare,  and  the  atmosphere 
circulates  with  greater  freedom.  Other  plants,  however, 
are  of  aquatic  nature,  and  live  chiefly  or  entirely  in  the 
water,  drifting  from  place  to  place.  Others  live  entirely 
from  the  atmosphere,  even  in  the  arid  atmosphere  of 
tropical  deserts.  The  Epidendrum '  will  for  years  live 
and  bloom,  suspended  from  a  ceiling  in  mid  air,  and 
nourished  from  the  atmosphere  alone. 

But  it  is  apparent,  that  while  any  state,  to  be  charac- 
terized with  order,  figure  and  fixity,  must  be  character- 
ized by  forces  corresponding  with  those  of  the  external 
world — cohesion,  gravitation,  etc. — they  might  not  be  in 
the  same  proportion  to  each  other,  from  which  the  mode 
of  being  might  not  be  the  same.  Besides,  what  is 
greatly  important,  with  the  higher  orders  of  existence, 
new  forces,  more  intimately  related  with  volition,  are 
found  supervening  the  mineral ;  as  in  the  case  of  the 
will  dissolving  and  resolving  the  magnetic  energies  of  the 


THE    VEGETABLE    REALM.  123 

living  body,  at  discretion.  And  though  the  law  of  grav- 
itation is,  in  the  mineral  state,  without  a  known  solvent 
that  may  neutralize  or  mitigate  its  hold,  or  reverse  its 
tendency,  is  such  a  power  not  to  be  anticipated  in  the 
living  ethers  with  their  special  and  superior  forces  ?  In 
animal  economy  mineral  forces  become  reversible  or 
subservient  to  those  of  volition.  The  demonstration  of 
this  fact,  by  even  so  small  a  circumstance  as  the  move- 
ment of  living  muscles  in  obedience  to  the  impulses  of 
the  mind,  is  some  assurance  of  the  prevalence  of  that 
principle  of  force  sufficiently  great  to  produce,  in  a  state 
so  superior  as  that  which  must  be  accorded  to  the  spir- 
itual, possibly  great  changes  in  the  modes  of  being. 
This  might  be  true  alike  of  its  passive  substances  and 
of  the  inhabiting  life,  vegetable  and  animal ;  while  the 
character  of  the  modification  would  be  favorable  to 
their  existence  rather  than  otherwise. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  a  state  having 
individual  existences,  as  the  world  of  spirits  must  be 
allowed  to  have,  without  having  palpable  scenery,  re- 
sponding to  their  needs ;  but,  with  the  active  presence 
of  some,  and  possibly  of  many,  forces  little  known  or 
whoUy  unknown  to  us,  no  settled  conclusion  as  to  its 
details  can  be  indulged.  This  encouraging  fact,  however, 
remains ;  the  state  is  not  inferior  but  superior  to  our 
present.  Hence  its  greater  gratifications  to  our  superior 
nature  would  seem  a  necessity.  The  prevailing  evi- 
dences also  are  in  favor  of  a  correspondence  in  the  es- 
sential features  of  that  world  with  the  one  we  live  in. 
The  evidences  that  apply  to  its  existence,  determine  its 


124  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

being  of  a  cosmical  character,  and  as  being  remotely 
allied  with  this  visible  existence.  But  astonishing  little 
would  be  the  alteration  required  in  the  forces  of  this 
existence  to  render  many  of  its  details  very  unlike  what 
they  now  are,  to  which  vegetable  and  animal  life  would 
need  to  conform.  But  as  the  type  of  the  vegetable  is 
not  determined  by  mineral  conditions,  to  appear  in  any 
existence  at  all,  would  be  to  appear  in  its  own  nature 
and  form  to  the  extent  that  surroundings  would  admit. 
And  so  with  the  animal.  So,  then,  of  that  land  that 
lies  far  inward  of  this,  spread  out  into  a  radiant  uni- 
verse, the  substance  may  hold  in  modification,  but  may 
not  change  the  type  of  any  life  which  may  extend  there 
from  any  other  world. 

Moreover,  the  vegetable  extending  inward  to  the 
realm  of  the  spiritual  would,  necessarily,  be  of  the 
highest  types  contained  in  that  ether.  The  history  of 
vegetable  life  on  the  planet  has  been  extensive  enough 
to  substantiate  this  claim.  In  the  gross,  unsettled  state 
of  the  mineral  world,  vegetable  life  has  been  corre- 
spondingly gross.  The  vegetable  growth,  during  the 
ages  when  the  elements  contained  immense  quantities 
of  carbon,  was  dense  and  vast  as  at  no  other  time  ; 
growing  and  perishing  in  rapid  succession,  and  thus  car- 
rying the  carbon  with  it  down  into  the  earth  in  reserva- 
tion for  the  future  comfort  of  man.  The  varieties  seem  not 
to  have  been  numerous,  but  of  the  crudest  types,  de- 
veloped in  the  grossest  fiber  and  forms ;  in  the  main, 
leathery,  spongy,  unseemly,  flowerless,  colorless,  vapid 
and  vile.     The  finer  elements,  which  emit  the  agreeable 


THE    VEGETABLE    REALM.  125 

odors  accompanying  the  bloom  of  fruitage,  had  not  yet 
been  reached  by  nature's  laboratory;  nor  was  the 
material  yet  in  hand  whereof  to  overspread  the  petals 
with  radiant  spiculce.  The  rainbow  had  not  yet  been 
set  in  the  heavens,  nor  on  the  plant.  And  the  types 
then  prevalent  have  either  wholly  disappeared,  or 
shrunken  from  giant  trees  to  the  trivial  diminutiveness 
of  a  few  inches. 

The  history  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  a  distinguished  writer:  "We  see  only 
detached  bits  of  that  green  web  which  has  covered  our 
earth  ever  since  the  dry  land  first  appeared ;  but  the 
web  itself  seems  to  have  been  continuous  throughout 
all  time ;  though  ever  as  breadth  after  breadth  issued 
from  the  creative  loom,  the  pattern  has  altered,  and 
the  sculpturesque  and  graceful  forms  that  illustrated  its 
first  beginnings  and  its  middle  spaces  have  yielded  to 
flowers  of  richer  color  and  blow,  and  fruits  of  fairer 
shade  and  outline;  and  for  gigantic  club  mosses, 
stretching  forth  their  hirsute  arms,  goodly  trees  of  the 
Lord  have  expanded  their  great  boughs ;  and  for  the  bar- 
ren fern  and  the  calamite,  clustering  in  thickets  beside  the 
waters,  or  spreading  on  flowerless  hill  slopes,  luxuriant 
orchards  have  yielded  their  ruddy  flush,  and  rich  har- 
vests their  golden  gleam"  (Testimony  of  the  Kocks. — 
Hugh  Miller,  p.  502). 

The  vegetable  has  thus  far  well  proven  its  ability  to 
keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  mineral  world  in 
promptly  issuing  higher  and  more  lovely  forms  as  the 
mineral  substance  became  refined.  Hence  the  proba- 
bility is  that  though  the  specimens  may  be  stationary, 


126  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE 

or  floating  in  the  diviner  atmosphere ;  and  though  they 
might  germinate  after  the  earthly  manner,  and  so  like- 
wise fade  and  die ;  or,  by  insensible  gradations,  might 
rise  into  and  recede  from  view ;  or,  like  the  banyan  tree, 
beset  their  appointed  bounds  by  ever  renewed  growth, 
it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  the  loveliest  plants 
of  earth  should  equal  those  inspiring  the  senses  of  the 
immortals  in  the  gardens  celestial. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

Insensible  Worlds  that  We  Know  of,  Continued. — 
The  Animal  Element  in  Nature. — Its  Position  In- 
terior OF  THE  Vegetable. — Its  Special  Superior 
Forces  and  Prerogatives. — The  Animal  Ether,  Etc. 

SOME  strong  resemblances  may  be  seen  between  the 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms.  In  certain  forms 
they  appear  to  be  of  the  same  order  of  existence.  Each 
is  divided  into  families  and  types,  and  these  again  into 
varieties,  maintaining,  for  the  most  part,  strict  genealo- 
gies and  descending  in  races.  Sex  lines  and  the  prop- 
agation of  their  species  are  characteristic  of  both.  The 
propagation  by  conjunction  of  the  sexes  is  about  as  com- 
mon in  one  kingdom  as  in  the  other.  Their  nutritive 
apparatuses  are  also  in  strong  resemblance  to  each 
other.  However,  they  are  unlike  as  to  the  selection  of 
the  elements  of  subsistence.  The  vegetable  takes  its 
food  from  inorganic,  while  the  animal  depends  on 
organic  fiber. 

Both  are  of  nutritive  instincts,  conserving  their  gen- 
eral plans  of  organism,  which  results  in  that  system- 
atic adjustment  of  the  materials  in  the  arrangements  of 
their  bodily  forms.  Both  the  animal  and  the  plant  in  all 
their  states  and  forms  are  living  beings,  inhering  in  vital 

127 


128  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 


n 


ethers  of  the  properties  and  qualities  indicated  by  their 
individual  representatives,  and  attain  to  maturity  by 
the  common  principle  of  the  development  of  their  in^ 
ternal,  constitutional  forces.  These  are  progressively 
evoked  or  liberated  from  their  latency  by  the  augment 
of  external  forces,  which,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  their  surrounding  material  cell  systems,  they  induce 
upon  themselves.  The  bodily  organisms  in  both  king^ 
doms,  as  to  extent  and  manner  of  organization,  may  be 
regarded  as  only  the  requisite  material  embodiment  of 
the  forces  essential  to  their  relation  with  external  nat- 
ure. And  when  the  constitutional  functions,  with  their 
corresponding  organs,  are  all  fully  outlined,  the  body 
will  have  attained  its  full  size  and  shape. 

To  this  there  is  a  seeming  exception  in  that  the  vege- 
table appears,  in  some  of  its  types,  limited  in  size  only 
by  the  producing  powers  of  the  elements ;  and,  by  con-, 
tinually  issuing  new  branches,  is  all  the  while  undergo-, 
ing  changes  as  to  individual  appearance.  The  resem-. 
blance  to  its  type  is,  however,  not  lost  thereby.  The 
oak  at  a  century  and  at  a  dozen  centuries  is  the  same 
as  to  its  characteristics ;  and,  bating  the  mutilations 
from  disease  and  external  causes,  maintains  the  patteru 
of  the  oak.  The  same  is  to  be  observed  of  the  polyp 
in  the  lower  forms  of  the  animal  kingdom.  But  these 
are  not,  properly,  exceptions  to  the  law  of  bodily  pror 
duction  referred  to. 

Up  to  this  point  the  vegetable  and  animal  are  strongly 
analogous.  But  beyond  this,  it  is  seen  that  the  two  nat- 
ures are  widely  different.     The  vegetable  in  its  highest 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  129 

forms,  exhibits  no  traces  of  the  distinguishing  features 
and  forces  now  appearing  in  the  animal.  Here  is  a 
system  of  nerves,  interlying  the  organism,  on  which 
are  plying  forces  not  met  with  in  the  kingdoms  below. 

Plants  are  to  some  extent  affected  by  an  apparent 
sensitiveness,  as  already  referred  to.  Some  being  of  so 
refined  an  order  as  to  be  impressible,  favorably  or  un^ 
favorably,  by  the  atmosphere  of  human  life.  It  is  a 
common  trouble  of  florists,  that  with  some  people,  and 
with  the  most  appropriate  treatment,  some  plants  will 
wane  and  die ;  while  with  others,  by  the  best  care,  they 
remain  sickly  and  dwarfed.  Also,  contrariwise,  the 
plant  is  at  times  seen  to  do  specially  well  with  the  care 
of  certain  ones ;  all  owing  to  the  impressibility  of  hu- 
man temperamental  peculiarities.  The  same,  to  be  sure, 
would  be  true  of  association  with  other  forms  of  life. 
In  some  plants  {(genus  Mimosa)  this  trait  is  so  promi- 
nent as  to  suggest  the  name  of  "  Sensitive-plant." 

But  this  impressibility  seems  not  owing  to  any  func- 
tional arrangement  in  the  plant,  there  being  no  corre- 
sponding organization.  Hence,  it  is  rather  a  chemical  than 
a  vital  phenomenon ;  rather  the  nice  general  cell  arrange- 
ment by  the  refined  plant  within,  yielding  so  readily  to 
the  neighboring  emanation,  than  that  it  is  owing  to 
sensation  properly.  All  that  is  apparent  in  the  most 
perfect  plant,  in  its  most  satisfied  condition,  conveys  no 
reason  why  it  should  be  experiencing  happiness.  And, 
when  drooping  from  exhaustion  or  shriveling  by  heat, 
nothing  is  seen  to  justify  the  consideration  of  pain.  The 
shriveling  contortions  are  from  the  inflating  gases  and 


130  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

dissolving  fiber,  and  are  in  like  manner  seen  in  the  de- 
composition of  lifeless  structure.  Its  beauty  in  health 
and  its  convulsions  in  the  process  of  fire  might  suggest 
sensations  of  happiness  and  of  pain,  but  the  anatomist 
would  find  no  occasion  to  suspect  their  existence. 

But,  regarding  the  plant  as  a  thing  of  life,  without 
taking  into  account  the  fact  of  vegetable  and  animal 
life  being  different  entities  with  different  properties  and 
different  organisms,  it  might  be  no  small  difficulty  to  over- 
come the  impression  that  the  sense  of  pleasure  in  some 
way  belongs  to  it ;  that  though  no  organism  indicates 
it,  it  may  by  some  secret  way  yet  exist,  to  be  some  day 
uncovered  by  a  better  science ;  and  that  thus  the  thing 
of  life,  of  beauty,  and  of  sweetness,  is  also  a  thing  of 
happiness;  or,  alas!  of  pain  at  times.  But,  while  the 
conjecture  might  be  entertaining,  that  the  floral  uni- 
verse is  an  infinite  throbbing  happiness,  the  proposition 
at  best  could  never  be  more  than  a  sentimental  con- 
jecture. 

The  plant  is  as  old  as  the  animal,  but  no  trace  of  an 
organism  for  the  embodiment  of  .sensation  has  yet  been 
evolved  in  it.  Besides,  without  it,  its  mission  and  plan 
of  being  are  complete.  And  though  the  vegetable  is  a  living 
entity,  and  greatly  superior  to  the  mineral,  the  presence 
of  sensation  is  as  probable  in  the  one  as  in  the  other. 
The  hair  of  the  human  body  is  also  a  thing  of  life,  of 
animal  fiber,  and  is  dependent  on  animal  forces ;  has  a 
selective  function,  or  mouth,  at  its  root ;  no  stomach,  no 
heart,  no  nerve,  no  sensation ;  but  is  complete,  and  all 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  131 

it  should  be,  and  all  it  was  designed  to  be,  without 
these. 

But  the  differences  between  the  two  kingdoms  are 
more  apparent  when  we  come  to  consider  their  higher 
forms.  Saying  nothing  of  man,  one  will  readily  note 
many  particulars  in  which  the  sagacious  horse  is  en- 
tirely unlike  the  great  tree  that  overshadows  him.  The 
tree  is  a  truly  wonderful  object  to  contemplate,  but  the 
horse  is  immeasurably  more  so.  Though  characterized 
with  life  and  working  out  a  design  half  intelligently, 
the  tree  remains  stationary,  rooted  fast  in  the  soil,  and 
is  dependent  for  life  on  such  materials  as  are  within 
reach  of  its  bodily  appointments ;  while  the  horse  has 
the  power  of  locomotion,  and  conveys  himself  after  the 
objects  of  his  gratification,  when  necessary  to  obtain 
them.  At  this  high  grade  of  the  two  kingdoms  the  dif- 
ference is  prominent  and  the  classification  easy.  But 
in  the  simpler  forms,  the  naturalist  has  been  made  to 
doubt  whether  he  should  classify  his  subject  with  the 
animal  or  vegetable.  Being  but  little  advanced  in  the 
scale  of  living  nature,  and  with  characteristics  im- 
perfectly developed,  it  has  been  difificult  to  agree  that 
the  sponge  is  or  is  not  an  animal,  or  the  polyp  is  or  is 
not  a  plant.  The  natures  of  the  two  kingdoms  often, 
in  those  lower  forms,  seem  so  much  confounded  in  the 
same  individual. 

Then  in  contrasting  the  two  kingdoms,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  take  them  at  the  points  where  the  highest 
forms  obtain — where  these  departments  of  nature  are 
most  fully  characterized — that  no  constituent  element 


132  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

will  be  overlooked  for  want  of  proper  development. 
And,  doing  so,  we  see  that  above  the  highest  attributes 
of  the  vegetable  realm,  the  animal  brings  to  our  con- 
sideration a  series  of  functions  that  evidence  the  existence 
of  an  essence  much  its  superior  as  well  as  much  farther 
inward  in  nature.  Here  are  sight,  hearing,  touch,  taste 
and  smell,  employed  in  the  uses  of  this  existence,  sub- 
served by  organisms  correspondingly  wonderful  in  their 
mechanism. 

The  device  of  senses  were  absurd  but  for  the  con- 
sideration that  they  are  fitted  to  an  entity  whose  nature 
requires  means  of  this  kind  to  facilitate  its  development 
and  the  accomplishment  of  its  mission.  Some  of  these 
are  serviceable  in  the  selection  of  the  ordinary  bod- 
ily supplies  without  contact  therewith,  by  conveying 
their  several  kinds  of  apprehension  of  outward  nature 
to  the  inward  principle  of  voluntary  thought,  as  by  sight 
or  by  sound.  And  but  for  that  thinking  principle  within 
to  seize  and  reflect  upon  the  impressions  thus  derived 
from  nature,  and  relegating  the  intelligence  they  awaken 
to  the  powers  of  volition,  out  of  which  the  rational  action 
comes,  which  chooses  this  and  refuses  that  out  of  the 
aggregate  presented  for  bodily  food,  these  faculties  would 
be  as  useless  to  animal  economy  as  the  microscope  to 
the  stone ;  and  for  the  same  reason  were  as  unmeaning 
in  the  unthinking  vegetable  as  in  the  mineral.  No  cor- 
respondence or  analogy  is  to  be  noted  between  the  simple 
instinct  which  builds  the  fiber  in  the  vegetable  or  the 
animal  tissue,  after  an  immutable  pattern  in  nature,' 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  133 

and  the  designing  power  that  is  apparent  in  the  uses  of 
these  senses. 

And  by  no  possibility  can  these  senses  be  considered 
as  belonging  to  an  entity  to  which  they  are  alike  useless 
and  meaningless.  Their  existence  is  no  more  a  cer- 
tainty than  is  also  that  of  the  sentient  substance  which 
alone  they  so  perfectly  conserve,  and  for  which  alone  is 
the  purpose  of  their  existence.  The  design  of  their  ex- 
istence may  not  be  apprehended  without  at  the  same 
time  apprehending  the  intelligent  entity  for  which  they 
are  designed.  These  senses  also  refer  to  a  nourishment 
demanded  by  this  higher  essence,  which  is  not  required 
by  the  kingdom  below,  and  on  which  it  is  dependent  for 
the  development  of  its  attributes.  This  development  is 
not,  strictly  speaking,  by  the  use  of  assimilating  forces, 
as  in  vital  recuperation,  but,  purely,  by  apprehension, 
which  it  is  the  special  office  of  the  senses  to  perform, 
and  which,  when  it  has  been  attained,  is  by  a  mental 
selectiveness  relegated  to  knowledge,  and  in  this  form 
is  satisfying  to  the  yearnings  of  the  thinking  principle 
in  the  animal  economy. 

Apprehension  itself  is  by  impression,  plainly  enough, 
and  thus  far  the  process  of  nourishing  the  mind  is 
analogous  to  that  of  nourishing  the  ordinary  vitality  of 
vegetable  or  animal  tissue.  Through  its  vibratory  prop- 
erties, nature  makes  its  impressions  indifferently  upon 
its  surroundings,  to  be  utilized  by  any  receiving  entity 
to  the  extent  and  in  the  manner  that  its  own  properties 
call  for.  In  the  lower,  or  vegetative,  processes,  there  is 
need  manifested  for  rudimental  cell  force — the  struct- 


134  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

ural  force — obtainable  by  immediate  atomic  contact  of 
homogeneous  substances.  The  force  craved  and  acquired 
on  this  plane  and  in  this  manner,  supplies  this  simple 
purpose  and  manifestly  no  other.  It  indicates  the 
presence  of  a  capacity  to  receive  and  respond  only  to  so 
much  of  nature's  various  operations.  All  the  other  of 
nature's  pulsations  are  without  a  recognizing  echo  in 
the  entity  of  that  simple  form  of  being.  The  mind  is 
the  only  entity  seizing  upon  and  utilizing  the  aspects 
of  nature — the  mere  spectacular  forces. 

THE  PROCESS  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 

To  answer  the  demand  of  the  thinking  principle,  in 
respect  to  external  nature,  mediate  elements  are  neces- 
sarily employed;  the  mental  entity  being  so  much 
higher  in  the  order  of  being,  and  hence,  too,  so  much 
farther  removed  inward,  its  commerce  with  the  external 
phase  of  existence  is  possible  only  by  proxy. 

The  thinking  entity,  as  a  substance,  is  a  matter  of 
force,  and  so  are  the  interlying  entities  between  it  and 
outward  nature  over  which  the  apprehending  powers  of 
the  mind  proceed  and  the  impressions  are  returned ;  but 
the  apparition  apprehended,  ^erse,  is  not  characterized  by 
any  of  the  attributes  of  substantial  force,  as  that  supreme 
agency  in  nature  is  manifested  to  our  understanding. 
The  pictured  substance  may  be  styled  a  condition  of 
force,  and  so,  too,  the  vehicle  of  light  by  which  the 
resemblance  is  transferred ;  and  impingement  on  con- 
sciousness is  by  a  mode  of   force :  but  the  picture,  the 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  135 

resemblance,  the  variegated  abstract  fact,  imprinted, 
and  now  contemplated,  is  without  the  recognized  attri- 
butes of  substance,  outside  of  which  substantial  force 
may  not  be  found. 

From  these  immaterial  realities — these  pictures  and 
the  work  of  harmonizing  them — the  mind  satisfies  and 
extends  itself.  They  respond  to  its  hunger.  They  are 
its  food  from  the  external  source.  Their  presence,  by  a 
sort  of  catalysis,  confers  a  yearned-for  release  of  the 
expansive  properties  of  the  thinking  entity.  Hence 
these  gratifying  sceneries  or  apparitions  of  nature, 
thronging  upon  the  hungry  senses,  whether  of  sight, 
sound,  touch,  taste  or  smell,  are  to  be  regarded  as  the 
outlets  rather  than  the  inlets  of  mental  force. 

Strictly  considered,  therefore,  the  development  of 
mind,  the  highest  merely  animal  attribute,  is  from  its 
own  side  of  nature — the  mental  ether — partaking  of 
neither  the  mineral  nor  the  vegetable  domain,  save  of 
their  intelligible  aspects  as  portrayed  upon  it  by  the 
action  of  the  senses.  These  apparitions  pass  over  the 
vital  fiber  which  acts  as  the  mere  vehicle  of  the  pictur- 
ing powers.  The  forces  that  rebuild  or  replace  that  vi- 
tal fiber  itself  are  entirely  unrelated  with  the  picturing 
forces, — as  the  microscope  itself,  is  not  supposed  to  be 
conscious  of  the  apparitions  it  supplies  to  the  sense  of 
sight. 

ANOTHER   IMPORTANT    DISTINCTION. 

But  in  yet  another  essential  particular  is  the  animal 
distinguishable   from   and   superior   to   the   vegetable. 


136  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Without  exceeding  it  in  bulk  we  find  the  animal  far  ex- 
ceeding the  vegetable  in  the  activity  and  variety  of  its 
forces.  The  animal  entity,  revealing  itself  by  an  or- 
ganization of  voluntary  functions  and  also  by  the  attri- 
bute of  mentality,  as  above  referred  to,  is  at  the  same 
time  characterized  by  a  voraciousness,  so  to  speak,  for 
force  impingements,  such  as  is  nowhere  found  in  the 
vegetable.  This  evidences  an  internal  subtlety  of  being 
far  exceeding  that  of  the  lower  kingdom ;  while  at  the 
same  time  it  proves  plainly  that  the  animal  represents 
a  state  of  life  correspondingly  more  intense,  active  and 
powerful.  It  is  greatly  important  to  see  not  alone  that 
the  appointments  of  the  animal  nature  are  more  varied, 
and  of  an  order  apparently  wholly  separate  from  and 
above  the  vegetable,  but  that  these  functions  have  far 
more  capacity  for  the  employment  of  force  than  is  seen 
in  the  vegetable ;  which  fact  is  a  clear  confirmation  of 
the  claim  that  the  animal  state  is  farther  inward  and 
nearer  the  great  heart  of  universal  power. 

In  what  may  be  termed  the  vegetative  department  of 
animal  economy,  the  nutritive  formulae  in  all  the  modes 
and  places  of  fibrous  construction  in  the  body,  the  anal- 
ogy between  the  two  kingdoms,  as  before  seen,  is  very 
strong ;  but  the  requirements  in  respect  to  this  process, 
by  these  entities  of  nature,  are  very  unlike.  While 
the  slow,  leisurely  currents  of  unaided  capillary  action 
are  quite  sufficient  to  supply  the  vegetable  with  the 
materials  it  requires  for  repairs  aiid  growth,  the  animal, 
in  its  true  representative  types,  to  meet  its  demands. 
Las  need   of  the  most   thoroughly  efficient   system  of 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  137 

transfer  imaginable — beyond  the  best  engineering  skill 
yet  developed  by  the  human  mind.  Here  is  placed  a 
harmonious  network  of  arteries  and  veins,  suited  and 
extended  directly  or  indirectly  to  every  part  of  the  body, 
however  minute  and  concealed.  And  these  are  made 
not  only  strong,  but  active.  They  are  supplied  by  a 
well-knitted,  elastic,  muscular  integument,  not  only  to 
hold  securely,  but  to  assist  in  propelling  the  freighted 
fluid  along  on  its  rounds  of  delivering  the  needed  fiber 
and   fuel,   and   carrying  away  the    debris  and  cinder. 

But  these  alone  are  not  sufficient.  A  throbbing  en- 
gine, with  powerful  muscular  walls,  is  placed  at  the 
head  of  these  works;  while  wires  of  nerve  fiber  are 
distributed  to  all  the  contractor  muscles  upon  these  liv- 
ing freight  lines,  by  simultaneous  impulses  to  augment 
the  flight  of  the  transporting  fluids.  And  to  further  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  this  system,  thorough  provision 
is  made  to  apply  to  this  machinery  the  great  motor  of 
heat,  in  various  suitable  measures.  A  special  and  very 
intricate  device — a  pair  of  lungs — for  transferring  oxy- 
gen from  the  atmospheric  air  to  the  blood,  in  exchange 
for  the  extinguishing  carbonic  acid,  is  placed  in  the  most 
protected  cavity  of  the  body,  and  is  incessantly  operated, 
pouring  a  constant  blast  of  this  fiery  agent  into  the  or- 
ganism, for  the  use  of  the  economy.  While,  at  the  same 
time,  there  is  carbonaceous  fuel,  mainly  of  fat,  distrib- 
uted to  the  numerous  magazines  or  receptacle  cells  that 
impinge  upon  this  living  network,  from  which  to  supply 
the  waning  fires. 

Besides,  that  there  may  be  as  little  waste  of  force  as 


138  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

possible,  and  that  the  small  bodily  limits  may  not  be 
occupied  by  foreign  substances,  the  admission  of  ali- 
ment is  presided  over  by  a  selective  taste,  by  which  nearly 
all  that  is  not  serviceable  as  food  is  excluded.  Moreover, 
the  admission  of  the  food  is  first  into  a  most  com- 
plete laboratory  of  muscular  grinding  and  chemical 
erosion ;  dissolving,  combining,  eliminating,  and  thus  put- 
ting it  into  the  most  complete  readiness  to  finally  pass 
on  to  the  myriad  cell  mouths,  who,  from  the  urgency  of 
the  demands  which  this  inward  living  energy  begets,  are 
gasping  for  it. 

In  contemplating  this  wonderful  device  of  the  animal 
organism — this  inimitable  machinery — it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  the  erection  and  using  thereof  are  wholly 
from  an  invisible  world,  the  existence  of  which  may 
hardly  be  doubted  by  the  observer  whose  gift  of  reason 
is  adequate  to  the  understanding  of  the  physical  or  ap- 
parent part  itself  of  this  phenomenon.  Neither  will  it 
be  easy  for  the  same  measure  of  mind  to  fail  to  locate 
that  invisible  world,  which  contains  this  greater  and  more 
subtle  motor  of  animal  life,  farther  inward  and  nearer 
the  perfect  than  that  of  the  vegetable  entity. 

Another  very  important  distinction  is  to  be  seen  sep- 
arating the  animal  from  the  vegetable.  It  is  in  respect 
to  the  element  of  affection  or  the  love  of  individuals  for 
individuals  of  their  kind.  Whether  any  such  attribute 
as  affection,  properly  so  called,  characterizes  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  has,  so  far,  not  been  fully  demonstrable.  But 
enough  is  known  to  say  confidently,  that  what  might  be 
found,  could  differ  but  little  from  mere  chemical  afiQnity. 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  139 

The  only  trait  of  the  plant  in  respect  to  affection  for  a 
member  of  its  kind,  and  in  which  it  resembles  the 
animal,  is  that  of  sexual  adaptation. 

This,  to  some  extent,  is  in  the  likeness  of  the  sexual 
relation  in  animal  economy.  But  it  is  passive  and  seem- 
ingly passionless.  And,  in  many  instances,  this  sexual 
want  of  the  plant  is  all  supplied  in  the  same  individual, 
by  self  fructification.  In  other  examples  the  pollen 
reaches  its  destination  by  drifting  in  the  air  or  being 
conveyed  by  insects  or  by  some  other  accidental  means. 
But  in  all  cases,  so  far  as  may  be  judged,  there  is  a 
complete  absence  of  any  recognition  or  desire  of  con- 
jugality or  even  companionship.  It  is  but  analogous  to 
what  may  be  seen  in  the  selectiveness  of  chemical  affinity. 
Iron  atoms  combine  more  readily  with  those  of  iron 
than  with  those  of  any  other  substance.  So  the  veg- 
etable entity  will  be  found  to  be  bonded  in  a  sympa- 
thy or  unity  with  its  kind.  And  as  iron  atoms  are 
massed  by  the  property  of  polarity,  by  their  opposite 
poles  seeking  each  other  in  affinity,  so  the  vegetable 
masses  or  multiplies  its  individuals  by  the  law  of  mutual 
attraction  of  opposites— opposite  halves  of  the  same 
orders,  if  we  may  use  the  illustration. 

Higher  than  this,  the  attribute  of  affection  is  not 
traceable  in  the  plant  life.  At  its  best  it  is  but  an  un- 
conscious and  feeble  instinct,  exerting  little  visible  in- 
fluence upon  the  organism. 

Herein,  therefore,  is  another  instance  of  the  superior- 
ity of  the  animal  over  the  vegetable,  little  less  marked 
than  is  that  of  intelligence  itself.     The  element  of  af- 


140  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

fection  in  the  animal  is  of  such  subtlety  and  power,  and 
of  such  intensity,  as  to  often  overcome  the  powers  of 
volition  themselves,  though  aided  by  the  strong  rein- 
forcements of  reason,  and  to  completely  change  the 
sentiments  and  current  of  the  whole  life. 

Besides,  while  in  the  vegetable  at  best  but  one  form  of 
affection  is  indicated,  namely,  that  which  pertains  to 
sex,  in  the  animal — in  the  human  or  rational  depart- 
ment— we  may  enumerate  the  conjugal,  the  fraternal,the 
filial,  and  the  reverential  in  at  least  two  varieties — for 
parents  and  for  Deity.  And  these  affections  all  refer  to 
corresponding  basic  entities  or  substances  of  which 
they  are  the  reciprocative  and  unifying  bond.  Affection, 
the  same  as  all  modes  of  common  attraction,  implies  a 
commonness  of  essence  in  the  objects  drawn  and  united. 
These  objects  so  drawn,  being  individualized  states  of 
that  substance,  are  in  sympathy  as  a  brother  with  a 
brother ;  or  as  individuals  of  its  opposite  phases  love — 
as  one  sex  loves  the  other ;  or  as  child  and  parent  love 
each  other ;  or  as  the  Deity  may  be  said  to  love  the  hu- 
manity, and  the  spiritually  enlightened  human  being  loves 
the  Deity.  These  phases  are  also  endowed  with  corre- 
sponding peculiarities.  Fraternal  and  parental  loves 
are  chiefly  denoted  by  an  expressive  tenderness  and 
social  fondness,  to  which  the  conjugal  adds  an  endear- 
ing sweetness,  all  expressed  in  yearnings  analogous  to 
those  of  appetite ;  while,  also,  the  reverential,  to  that 
of  social  fondness,  adds  submissive  confidence,  etc. 
Then,  the  variety  enlarges  to  view  as  it  is  seen  that 
each  circumstance  draws  its  special  form  of  sympathy ; 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  141 

as  pain  excites  that  which  expresses  itself  in  sorrow  and 
tears,  and  happiness  that  which  manifests  itself  in 
smiles  and  rejoicings. 

And  now  it  is  to  be  uniformly  remembered  that 
these  all  are  forces  embodied  in  their  respective  sub- 
stances, congenital  with  the  soul  in  which  they  inhere, 
and  lying  wholly  within  the  animal  realm ;  part  of  them 
appearing  in  the  irrational,  and  all  in  the  rational  orders 
of  animal  being,  in  some  measure  of  development; 
that  these  forces,  recognized  and  denominated  affec- 
tions or  loves,  are  not  denoted  by  any  form  of  organiza- 
tion in  the  lower  kingdoms,  and  are  wholly  without 
representation  or  even  imitation  in  those  more  external 
states. 

A  word  of  explanation  in  reply  to  the  hypothesis  sub- 
mitted by  some,  that  the  animal  and  vegetable  entities 
are  identical,  from  their  frequent  close  resemblances  in 
the  lower  forms,  may  properly  here  be  added.  Eefer- 
ence  to  these  resemblances  has  already  been  made,  but 
for  another  purpose.  Then,  if  these  entities  are  intrin- 
sically so  different,  and  are  ranged  in  states  so  unequal, 
relative  to  the  central,  innermost  and  governing  perfec- 
tions of  being,  why  do  these  mimicries  and  resemblances 
in  their  structure  and  habit,  exist  ?  And  why  may  we 
not  say  that  they  are  fundamentally  the  same  life,  ex- 
tending thus  widely,  from  the  lowest  vegetable  to  the 
highest  animal  characteristics  ?  We  may  answer,  that 
allowing  the  existence  of  an  interlying  medium,  im- 
pressible fiom  both  states,  analogous  to  what  we  have  in 
the  catalysis  of  chemistry,  where  by  the  mere  presence 


142  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

of  an  element  essentially  foreign,  elements  derive  impor- 
tant modifying  influences  from  each  other,  all  is  explained : 
The  relation  being  one  of  impingement  rather  than  of 
affection.  And  the  fact  that,  beyond  what  may  in  this 
simple  way  be  wholly  explained,  resemblances  do  not 
continue,  but  in  the  higher  and  stronger  orders  of  both, 
are  lost,  is  proof  of  the  most  conclusive  character,  that 
the  essences  are  not  the  same,  and  that  the  phenomena 
occur  according  to  this  explanation.  The  lower  animal 
types,  which  are  the  least  perfect,  and  therefore  the  weak- 
est of  the  animal  ethers,  would  of  course  suffer  more  readily 
restraints  and  modifications  from  the  lower  kingdom, 
and  be  more  readily  suborned  into  its  resemblance, 
in  form  and  habit.  For  example,  in  the  coral,  which  is 
a  community  of  homogeneous  animal  lives,  the  com- 
munity or  the  plant-like  structure,  often  extends  itself 
upon  the  form  or  typal  design  of  the  vegetable.  Feeble 
animal  souls,  as  they  are,  they  are  readily  trellised 
upon  the  vegetable  patterns.  It  is  the  mutual  impinge- 
ment and  transfer  of  force  of  the  two  elements,  result- 
ing in  the  adoption  of  common  forms,  rather  than  two 
branches  of  the  same  element  joined  below  in  a  "loop." 
The  principle  is  seen  to  operate  in  other  forms  of  the 
lower  grades — worms,  beetles,  moths  and  butterflies, 
who  do  not  only  mimic  vegetable  life,  but  also  animals 
of  the  lower  forms.  Interesting  examples  of  these  are 
to  be  seen  referred  to  by  Prof.  Mivart  (Lessons  from 
Nature,  etc.,  pp.  244 — 247),  and  by  Wallace  (Natural 
Selection,  Chap.  3),  where,  in  color  and  form,  insects 
are  so  disguised  by  resemblance  to  their  surrounding 


THE    ANIMAL    ELEMENT.  143 

vegetable  nature  as  to  readily  deceive  the  beholder  into 
believing  one  to  be  a  leaf  or  twig  of  the  kind  where  it 
is  found,  and  where  it  habitually  lives;  and  whereof, 
also,  it  most  probably  derives  its  temporary  modifica- 
tions, but  with  which  its  diverse  and  superior  attributes 
can  in  no  sense  combine  or  unify.  The  animal  is  of 
and  for  its  own  superior  domain,  and  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  that  below. 

Prof.  Gray,  the  veteran  botanist  of  Harvard,  in  his 
recent  lectures  to  the  theological  class  of  Yale,  intimates 
that  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  unify  below ; 
from  the  fact  "  that  there  are  multitudinous  forms  which 
are  not  sufficiently  differentiated  to  be  distinctly  either 
plant  or  animal ; "  and  also  because  "  in  respect  to  or- 
dinary plants  and  animals,  the  difficulty  of  laying  down 
a  definition  has  become  far  greater  than  before. "  From 
these  facts  he  feels  justified  in  expressing  himself  in 
the  rather  precipitant  conclusion :  "  In  short,  the  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  lines,  diverging  widely  above,  join 
below  in  a  loop  "  (Natural  Science  and  Keligion,  p.  11). 

But  the  professor  would  hardly  concede  that  min- 
eral elements  chemically  combined,  and  in  that  condition 
yielding  their  true  characters  for  one  greatly  unlike 
either,  must,  because  of  this,  be  but  the  same  ele- 
ment there  joining  in  a  loop. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Insensible  Substances,  Continued. — Intellect 
Further   Considered. 

IT  will  be  observed  that  I  use  the  terms  "substance  " 
and  "  matter  "  in  somewhat  separate  meanings,  in 
which  essence  is  always  substance,  but  not  always 
matter — after  the  old  time  way  of  employing  them.  Of 
course  no  very  fixed  line  of  distinction  can  be  drawn ; 
but  by  this  view  matter  would  be  that  form  of  substance 
which  is  allied  to  the  sensuous  state,  the  substance  of 
sensuous  nature.  In  this  sense  mind,  soul,  and  spirit, 
being  embodiments  of  force,  are  substances,  while  they 
are  not  to  be  classed  with  material  substance,  or,  strictly, 
with  the  mineral  domain. 

In  thus  conforming  to  thjs  old  time  conventional  use 
of  these  words,  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  in  mat- 
ters of  law,  where  the  same  conditions  are  involved, 
they  are  subject  to  different  systems.  The  principles 
of  force  and  of  cause  and  effect,  can  only  be  considered 
as  of  one  and  the  same  universal  government,  extend- 
ing over,  and  affecting  alike,  in  like  conditions,  all  forms 
of  substance,  whether  of  supreme  mentality  or  of  inert 
mineral.     To  be  sure,  the  same  conditions  throughout 

are  not  to  be  expected  in  wholly  unlike  phases  of  sub- 

144 


INTELLECT    FURTHER    CONSIDERED.  145 

stance.  Hence  the  mental  and  the  moral  forces  we 
would  not  look  to  find  operating  a  piece  of  granite ;  nor 
would  it  be  certain  that  we  would  find  in  the  mental 
state  what  would  fully  correspond  to  the  specific  gravity 
of  the  stone,  though  the  same  principles  of  cause  and 
effect  are  necessarily  operating  in  both  of  these  sub- 
stances which  in  all  other  respects  are  without  any 
relation  soever  which  is  defined  to  the  human  under- 
standing. 

In  the  previous  chapter,  which  has  been  mainly  de- 
voted to  the  state  and  general  attributes  of  animal  life, 
in  contrast  with  the  vegetable,  reference  has  been  made 
to  the  element  of  mind ;  but  necessarily  in  brief  and 
quite  general  terms,  and  without  the  close  discrimina- 
tion that  should  characterize  a  presentation  of  the  sub- 
ject of  mind  in  a  fullness  adequate  to  the  present 
purpose,  in  which  it  is  designed  to  exhibit  its  types, 
with  respect  to  the  superior  and  interior,  on  the  general 
scale. 

Even  to  the  ordinary  observer  the  kingdom  of  animal 
•life  is  seen  to  be  of  great  variety  in  form  and  grade. 
But  as  the  simplest  part  of  it  is  vested  with  a  seemingly 
impenetrable  mystery,  the  different  phases  of  its  phe- 
nomena are  not  commonly  classified  and  grouped  as  the 
more  palpable  facts  of  lower  nature  are  seen  to  be. 
Hence,  too,  fundamental  causes  for  the  differences  of 
mental  action  have  not  been  commonly  suspected  and 
looked  for ;  and  so  this  crowning  manifestation  in  ani- 
mated nature  was,  by  a  sort  of  common,  hopeless  con- 
sent, regarded  as  derived  from  a  single   entity,  with 

10 


146  CON;>OLATIONS   0¥   SCIENCE. 

all  these  differences  as  but  from  so  many  of  its  own  in- 
trinsic properties,  or  versatilities  of  the  same  properties. 

But  the  mental  universe,  whose  phases  are  denoted 
by  the  various  animal  types,  spreads  out  into  broad  ex- 
tremes, presenting  differences  as  abrupt  and  wide  as 
those  noted  between  itself  and  the  kingdom  below. 

Mentality  in  its  lower  forms,  where  the  capacity  is 
barely  sufficient  to  apprehend  and  impress  upon  con- 
sciousness the  most  external  features  of  nature,  and 
possibly  also  the  registered  experiences  of  the  organism, 
is  indeed  a  wonderful  phenomenon,  denoting  an  im- 
measurable exaltation  of  being.  But  when  we  observe 
the  majesty  of  that  special  form  of  mind  whose  office 
is  to  apprehend  abstract  principles — principles  lying 
wholly  away  from  and  independent  of  sensuous  sub- 
stances— we  strike  out  again  into  a  new  universe,  the 
innermost  order  of  existence ;  where  are  associated,  co- 
operatively, in  an  inseparable  oneness,  all  the  supreme 
elements  of  being ;  which,  in  their  limited  but  endlessly 
unfolding  and  ever  advancing  individual  forms,  consti- 
tute the  finite  or  human  phase ;  while  in  the  infinite 
and  unattainable  heights  and  absolute  perfections  thereof, 
is  the  undivided  sphere  of  Deity, — the  state  of  the  Su- 
preme Jehovah! 

DIVIDING  LINE  BETWEEN    INSTINCT  AND  REASON. 

Setting  aside,  for  the  present,  a  full  discussion  of  the 
question  that  in  connection  with  this  subject  so  com- 
monly arises,  as  to  where — between  what  merely  two 
tlasses  of  animals,  that  is,  between  man  and  what  ani- 


INTELLECT    FURTHER    CONSIDERED.  147 

mal  that  is  next  to  man — the  line  of  distinction  between 
irrational  and  rational  mind  is  to  be  drawn,  let  but  a 
brief  passing  note  be  made  of  the  mental  habits  of  some 
of  the  vertebrates,  as  they  represent  the  highest  order 
of  the  animal  kingdom.  And  further,  let  them  be  of 
the  mammalia;  that  our  selection  may  be  from  the 
highest  in  that  order.  And  here  we  see  a  very  visible 
dijfference  in  the  mental  habits  of  the  horse,  the  ox,  the 
dog,  and  that  most  sagacious  of  lower  animals,  accord- 
ing to  some  naturalists, — the  elephant,  and  those  of  man. 
This  difference  is  more  apparent  as  we  remove  each 
to  his  own  sphere  and  away  from  the  influences  of  the 
other ;  removing  the  brute,  for  a  few  generations,  from 
the  influence  of  domestication  under  man,  away  by 
himself ;  and  man  away  from  the  wilderness  and  pre- 
ponderant brute  associations. 

By  near  proximity,  the  brute,  under  the  guiding  hand 
of  man,  might,  in  time,  become  influenced  by  his  men- 
tal habits,  and  thus,  by  the  imitative  quality  of  his 
mind,  temporarily  assume  his  traits — rational  traits — 
that  do  not  belong  to  him.  Science  would  allow  even 
more  than  this.  The  brute,  by  his  necessary  close,  ser- 
vile attention  to  man,  might  receive  temporary  mental 
impingements  from  the  human  source ;  where  the  higher 
element  of  mind  might,  unconsciously,  diffuse  itself 
upon  the  lower  substance,  and  execute  its  special  office 
through  a  lower  organism,  while  in  no  way  identical  with 
the  resident  mind  of  the  brute  itself,  as  will  be  seen  il- 
lustrated in  a  future  chapter.  The  element  in  common, 
on  which  the  action  would  be  predicated,  would  be  ani- 


148  .     CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

mal  sensibility,  lying  within  the  lower  nature  of  man 
and  the  brute  alike,  and  available  to  either  mental  state, 
so  far  as  the  physical  mechanism  would  be  adequate 
to   the  execution  of   the   requisite   movements.     Such 
transfer,  through  a  rare  temperamental  condition  on  the 
part  of  the  brute,  might  occur  according  to  well  known 
biological  law,  analogous  to  chemical  law,  referred  to  in 
the  previous  chapter  in  connection  with  "  mimicries  "  in 
nature.     Further  along  it  will  be  seen  also  that  it  is 
not  an  unusual  occurrence  for  a  function  of  mind  to  em-  is 
ploy  a  part  of  the  nervous  organism  below  that  of  its ;; 
own  immediate  seat ;  as,  for  example,  the  wounding  of  • 
a  limb  by  a  great  mental  force  precipitated  on  it,  but  I 
more  especially  in  cases  of  rational  acts  being  performed  ? 
during  periods  of  somnolency. 

But  the  alleged  phenomena  of  brute  rationality  would 
generally,  if  not  always,  find  a  ready  and  natural  ex- 
planation in  the  brute's  instinctive  recurrence  to  the, 
modes  of  its  experience,  incurred  in  its  management 
while  under  training.  Hence  such  deportment  might 
be  only  of  self-repetition,  and  not  of  original  device. 

To  the  beholder,  who  has  not  gone  back  and  observed 
the  long,  careful  training,  and  the  minute  adapting  of 
beast  to  master  by  voice  and  gesture,  the  de]3ort- 
ment  of  the  animal  on  exhibition  will  be  strong  proof 
of  its  endowment  with  human  reason.  But  recurring 
to  the  painstaking  training,  and  mechanizing  of  the  an- 
imal into  essentially  fixed  modes  of  operating,  of  which 
the  exhibition  is  but  the  last  example — the  last  evolution 


INTELLECT    FURTHEK    CONSIDEEED.  149 

of  practice,  he  sees  no  need  of  recourse  to  rational 
mind  for  all  that  the  facts  reveal. 

The  extent  to  which  this  training  may  influence  lower 
animals,  may  not  be  apprehended  by  even  the  skillful 
artists  themselves,  who,  on  their  own  part,  do  not  have 
the  same  need  of  utilizing  every  experience  and  co-ordi- 
nation of  circumstances,  by  which  to  be  directed  in  sup- 
plying the  foods  and  conveniences  of  life,  as  the  lower 
animals  have  to  do,  but  who  from  their  different  men- 
tality, can,  to  some  extent,  forget  experiences,  and  draw 
on  inductive  intellect  for  the  devising  of  current  neces- 
sities. It  is  materially  otherwise  with  the  brute,  who 
for  want  of  the  devising  powers  of  reason  must,  un- 
consciously, substitute  the  remembrance  of  co-ordinated 
experiences,  and  essentially  repeat  himself — each  time 
adding  another  evolution  to  his  training.  As  the  blind 
man,  who  has  not  the  benefit  of  sight,  must  make  more 
extensive  use  of  his  other  senses,  the  irrational  animal, 
from  want  of  reason,  attains  the  ends  it  needs  on  its 
simple  plane,  by  a  more  diligent  recurrence  to  the  reg- 
ister of  its  experience.  And,  considering  its  limited 
mental  range,  the  brute,  as  also  many  others  of  the 
lower  forms  of  life,  has  ever  been  remarkable  for  its 
exact  memory. 

As  an  illustration  of  rare  development  of  mind  in  the 
lower  forms,  facts  connected  with  the  death  of  an  ele- 
phant, with  some  of  the  details,  were  related  to  me,  in 
which  it  was  evident  that  the  animal  was  a  good  repre- 
sentative of  his  sagacious  race.  Prostrated  upon  his 
huge  side  and  suffering  intensely,  his  eyes  followed  his 


150  CONSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 


I 


keeper,  who,  besides  other  modes  of  relief,  was  applying 
the  soothing  cold  water ;  and  when  at  any  time  it  was 
discontinued,  the  sufferer  would  gently  seize  the  hand 
of  the  keeper  and  convey  it  from  the  water  to  the 
wounded  limbs ;  also  in  the  same  manner  calling  his 
attention  to  other  seats  of  pain. 

Here  then,  was,  apparently,  a  phenomenon  of  the 
human  mind.  It  was  doing  about  as  sensibly  as  a  hu- 
man being  would  do.  And  without  the  use  of  language, 
it  was  quite  the  same  method  by  which  a  human  being 
would,  under  the  circumstances,  undertake  to  relieve 
himself.  And  the  question  is,  how  is  it  to  be  accounted 
for  without  according  to  the  elephant  the  reasoning  at- 
tribute of  the  human  mind?  But  what  are  the  facts 
in  this  mental  phenomenon  ?  And  what  are  its  con- 
ditions ?  Do  these  necessarily  involve  the  element  of 
reason  ?  Will  not  the  theory  of  recurrence  to  co-ordi- 
nated experiences  registered  in  the  mind  of  the  animal, 
and,  indeed,  assimilated  with  his  bodily  functions, 
readily  account  for  all  that  so  strongly  indicates  reason 
in  these  sentient  deportments?  In  the  first  place,  the 
animal  was  affected  by  pain  from  which  it  sought  relief 
by  its  accustomed  modes,  so  far  as  they  were  applicable 
to  the  case.  In  the  second  place,  its  movements  with 
reference  to  the  desired  result,  were  the  effect  of  certain 
modes  of  mental  force — the  highest  and  most  efficient 
of  its  mental  endowments  would  be  called  into  service 
by  the  deadly  pain.  His  movement  was  toward  a  com- 
pound object  of  relief, — the  water  and  the  hand,  and 
from  thence  to  the  wounded  part. 


INTELLECT    FURTHER    CONSIDERED.  151 

These  facts,  proceeding  from  a  reasoning  intelligence, 
would  be  explained,  substantially,  after  this  formula: 
the  causative  power  of  the  hand  must  be  directed  to 
communicate  with  the  water  and  effect  its  deliverance 
to  the  suffering  part,  implying  also,  a  knowledge  or  a 
belief  of  the  existence  of  the  requisite  ability,  and  also 
of  the  agreeable  result  following.  And  all  this  to  be 
perceived  independently  of  experience  or  example,  other 
than  the  ideal  act  rationally  constructed  from  prin- 
ciples found  in  combination  with  outside  circumstances. 
For,  though  having  experienced  the  treatment  and  the 
consequent  relief,  and  perceiving  the  probability  of  its 
being  followed  by  the  same  agreeable  result,  the  man, 
without  necessarily  noting  or  remembering  these  facts, 
would  proceed  from  their  known  principles  to  originate 
the  application,  as  the  keeper  himself  had  done. 

After  this  manner,  substantially,  would  the  rational 
mind  have  proceeded  to  produce  the  actions  referred  to 
in  the  case  of  the  disabled  elephant.  The  same  acts 
assigned  to  the  irrational  mind,  would,  however,  be  ex- 
plained by  reference  to  a  quite  different  mental  process, 
involving  a  much  less  capacity.  Though  the  distress- 
iug  heat  might  have  suggested  a  bath  to  the  elephant, 
no  signals  indicated  the  bringing  of  the  water,  nor  its 
application,  prior  to  experiencing  the  act  from  the 
keeper,  although  a  large  body  of  it  was  near  at  hand, 
and  his  organization  would  have  permitted  their  use. 
Kecourse  to  experience  of  correlated  circumstance,  is 
the  short  and  sufficient  means  of  explaining  the  meth- 


152  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

ods  of  the  irrational  mind  in  procuring  the  somewhat 
singular  deportment  of  this  animal. 

But  the  animal  had,  for  years,  and  probably  during 
the  whole  of  his  long  life,  been  the  constant  companion 
and  servant  of  a  keeper,  from  whom  he  received  every 
privilege  he  enjoyed  and  every  supply  he  needed — had 
often  experienced  severe  punishment  and  kind  restora- 
tion from  the  same  hand ;  and  from  the  same  source 
had  received  constant  training.  His  instinct,  therefore, 
could  not  be  otherwise  than  largely  modified  into  human 
habits,  as  his  experiences  were  almost  wholly  from  the 
traits  and  treatments  of  his  keeper.  Besides,  his  main 
experiences,  as  to  his  own  acts  and  deportments,  were 
of  close  observation  of  the  keeper's  movements,  with 
a  constant  retention  of  their  effects  upon  himself. 

Then  that  he  should  have  recurred  to  his  keeper's 
hand,  with  a  view  to  mimic  the  mode  of  relief  that  he 
just  experienced,  was  but  in  accordance  with  his  organic 
nature  and  his  lifelong  training. 

That  the  motion  should  be  so  human  like — so  like 
one  using  his  arm  in  handling  an  object — is  from  the 
peculiar  proxy  arrangement  of  his  organization,  and  is 
not  essentially  unlike  extending  his  trunk  to  his  food 
and  conveying  it  to  his  mouth,  or  the  bird  seizing  the 
twig  and  adjusting  it  to  its  nest — a  mode  of  motion 
that  it  never  learned  nor  otherwise  acquired,  but  was 
part  of  it  at  its  birth — a  wonderful  piece  of  mentality, 
yet  wholly  below  reason. 

People  are  often  led  to  misjudge  that  because  such 
phenomena  are  in  strong  resemblance  to  acts  of  reason, 


INTELLECT    FURTHEK    CONSIDERED.  153 

they  are  necessarily  attributable  to  reason  alone ;  not  hav- 
ing fully  considered  the  domain  of  instinct  and  the  va- 
riety of  purposes  to  which  it  may  be  extended  by  training, 
and  what  results  may,  and  often  do,  thus  follow  from 
the  many  correlated  chains  of  experiences  at  the  disposal 
of  an  acute  mind  which  is  yet  wholly  on  the  plane  of 
instinct. 

Then,  again,  it  is  often  the  case  that  the  absence  of 
the  power  of  analogy — one  of  the  cardinal  elements  of 
reason  in  its  lower  forms — leads,  substantially,  to  the 
same  results  that  follow  from  the  use  of  this  great  at- 
tribute of  mind. 

The  indistinguishable  grouping,  simultaneously  or  in 
succession,  of  similar  facts  upon  the  mental  apprehen- 
sion, having  a  resemblance  so  strong  as  to  cast,  essen- 
tially, the  same  impression  and  awaken  the  same  states 
of  consciousness,  would  also  call  forth  the  same  deport- 
ment, the  one  fact  or  experience  as  the  other,  and 
would  from  the  sense  of  oneness^  without  analogy,  apply 
to  the  same  uses ;  which  would  very  readily  occur  on  a 
low  plane  of  mind.  But  the  more  sentient  mind,  know- 
ing them  as  separate  and,  by  the  power  of  analogy, 
judging  them  to  be  suitably  alike,  would  be  disposed  to 
also  apply  them  each  to  the  same  use,  the  same  as  in 
the  previous  case.  In  the  one  case,  because  they  are 
indistinguishable,  the  one  object  or  experience,  may,  by 
instinct,  be  mistakenly  taken  for  the  other;  in  the 
other,  from  a  consciousness  of  their  distinction  joined 
with  the  fact  of  their  resemblance,  reason  might  decide 
that  they  may  represent  or  substitute  each  other.    In  the 


154  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 


m 


former  case,  the  substitution  would  be  from  a  mistaken 
identity;  in  the  latter,  a  device  emanating  from  the 
mind. 

Where  the  resemblance  disappears  in  an  absolute  one- 
ness, analogy  or  reason  is  impossible ;  but  where  there 
is  a  difference — a  separation — a  space — as  between  in- 
dependent units,  analogy  erects  her  ideal  mathematical 
lines,  and  mentally  conveys  them  over  the  interlying 
differences,  and  by  them  measures  and  computes  the 
resemblances,  forming  thus  a  judgment  as  to  the  extent 
and  manner  that  one  may  take  the  place  of  the  other 
and  yield  the  same  results. 

A  main  distinction,  then,  between  mind  on  the  level 
of  instinct,  and  that  on  the  level  of  reason,  is,  that  in 
the  former  it  is  actuated  from  without,  by  the  impinge- 
ment of  current  experiences  correlating  with  those  that 
are  registered  in  the  memory,  and  thus  exciting  the  voli- 
tion whereof  the  mind  proceeds,  in  its  accustomed 
modes,  to  influence  the  organism  to  select  results  in 
harmony  with  the  major  stress  of  appetite,  passion  or 
any  form  of  yearning;  while  in  the  latter  it  is  self- 
actuating  and  originative — devising  within  itself  and 
issuing  from  itself,  new  modes  and  reforms  of  modes. 
The  former  being  but  adapted  to  echo  devices  of 
thought,  the  latter  to  create  them.  On  the  lower  level, 
ideas  reflect,  on  the  higher,  they  originate. 

But,  as  both  of  these  forms  of  mind  are  resident  in 
man,  who,  under  Deity,  is  probably  the  only  example 
of  the  attribute  of  reason,  and  as  they  combine  in 
nearly  every  form  of  his  thought  and  conduct,  it  re- 


INTELLECT    FURTHER    CONSIDERED.  155 

quires  very  careful  and  penetrative  analysis  to  avoid 
confounding  the  one  with  the  other,  while,  when  rightly 
separated,  their  unlikeness  is  readily  apparent.  And  it 
is  from  the  fact  of  the  uniformly  unlike  and  unequal 
mind  of  the  brute,  as  compared  with  that  of  man,  that 
the  suggestion  first  proceeded  that  a  radical  distinction 
existed  in  mind,  separating  it  into  the  irrational  and 
rational  forms. 

But  how  different  from  imitation  or  repetition  of  ex- 
perience, is  the  phenomenon  of  originating  the  treat- 
ment— the  part  acted  by  the  keeper  of  this  elephant. 
While  it  is  not  the  best  illustration  of  the  attribute  of 
reason  that  is  to  be  given,  the  part  performed  by  the 
man  is  yet  essentially  unlike  that  performed  by  the 
beast.  It  is  supposable  that  he  was  then  for  the  first 
time  in  the  presence  of  these  facts  in  exactly  this  com- 
bination. It  was,  on  the  whole,  an  entirely  new  im- 
pression. And,  as  a  combination,  it  could  not  connect 
with  any  of  his  experiences.  There  was  no  continuity 
of  this  composite  fact  to  unify  it  with  one  of  previous 
experience  or  observation,  by  which  the  remedial  act  in 
respect  to  it  could  be  prompted,  as  there  was  in  the  case 
of  the  elephant.  But  the  keeper,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  had 
seen  cases  in  which  facts  similar  to  these  were  present. 
However,  they  were  combined  with  others  not  similar ; 
so  that,  as  aggregates,  they  were  dissimilar  and  unsug- 
gestive  of  the  mode  of  procedure,  till  sentient  and  cre- 
ative reason  could  administer  upon  them,  separating 
the  similar  from  the  dissimilar,  and  from  an  estimate  of 


156  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

how  far  the  modes  of  relief  in  the  former  might  supply 
the  same  good  in  the  present  case. 

Possessing  the  power  to  perceive  abstract  principles 
and  their  properties,  from  which  to  select  and  construct 
the  ideal  fact  of  relief,  after  which  the  literal  fact  should 
be  formed,  the  unarranged  factors  of  relief,  lying  strewn 
through  nature,  were  at  his  command,  to  the  extent  to 
which  this  divine  attribute  of  induction  was  attained  in 
him.  With  this  pre-eminence  of  mind — appointed  for 
unlimited  voyaging  in  a  limitless  sea  of  principles,  con- 
crete and  abstract,  this  assuaging  device,  seemingly  so 
impossible  to  the  brute,  was  so  simple  and  easy  to  the 
man. 

BEASON  IN  LOWER  ANIMALS    NOT   POSITIVELY  DISCLAIMED. 

For  the  purpose  of  exemplifying  the  realm  of  instinct, 
the  animal  kingdom  under  man  has  here  been  held  to 
view,  as  being  without  the  element  of  reason.  That  is, 
however,  not  finally  insisted  upon,  as  already  intimated. 
That  is  to  say,  that  a  latent  germ  of  the  reasoning  mind 
may  be  imbedded  in  the  lower  organisms,  which  by 
some  future  possibility  may  grow  into  recognition,  it 
would  be  unsafe  to  positively  deny.  Only,  in  the  sup- 
port of  that  hypothesis,  it  were  necessary  to  explain 
why,  when  surrounded  by  the  same  nature  that  man 
is,  and  preceding  him  in  the  world,  the  highest  brute 
has  not  produced  what  is  necessarily  an  act  of  reason  ? 
Also,  why  their  mental  state  as  families,  remains  abso- 
lutely fixed — neither  gaining  nor  losing?  All  modifi- 
cations are  well  shown  to  be  temporary  only — disap- 


INTELLECT    FURTHER    CONSIDERED.  157 

pearing  with  the  removal  of  the  special  causes  to  which 
they  are  due ;  thus  rising,  or  settling  back  again,  to  the 
typal  character  to  which  they  belong,  when  released 
from  temporary  constraint. 

Evidently  for  want  of  rational  capacity,  rational  ex- 
periences by  which  they  are  in  rare  instances  influenced, 
are  immediately  lost  when  the  rational  agent  disap- 
pears. Thus  far  it  is  evident  that  the  reasoning  ele- 
ment may  impinge  its  facts  in  every  conceivable  way  on 
the  mind  of  the  beast,  and  leave  with  it  no  reasoning 
trait.  On  the  contrary,  we  observe  that  in  man,  ab- 
stract principles,  apprehended  by  one  mind,  are,  even 
without  sensuous  illustration,  readily  impressed  upon 
its  kindred  minds,  where  the  same  elucidation  may  con- 
tinue on  indefinitely  unfolding  new  combinations  of 
principles,  from  which  human  life  shapes  itself  into 
ever  varying  habits. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  instinct,  it  is  appar^.ntly 
a  form  of  mind  that  is  resident  upon  the  senses  only, 
and  is  limited  to  the  apprehension  of  sensuous  phe- 
nomena ;  only  apprehending  the  properties  of  external 
nature.  It  may  take  observation  of  colors,  as  identli&ed 
with  visible  objects,  but  not  apart  from  them.  It  may 
distinguish  yellow  and  blue,  seen  by  the  physical  eye, 
as  characterizing  some  forms  of  nature,  but  could  not 
possibly  translate  them  from  their  respective  substances 
into  the  ideal  realm,  and  there  combine  them  into 
green.  It,  too,  may  take  observation  of  the  association 
of  properties,  as  color  and  shape,  with  some  form  of 
taste,  and  anticipate  the  latter  by  the  accustomed  com- 


158  CONSOLATIONS   OP   SCIENCE. 

bination  of  the  former,  as  is  to  some  extent  illustrated 
in  the  selection  of  food.  But  it  cannot  perceive  the 
ideal  act  of  placing  upon  an  object  the  designating 
property  of  color  or  shape. 

Then,  when  we  come  to  give  our  attention  to  that  form 
of  mind  whose  office  it  is  to  apprehend  principles  out 
beyond  the  sensuous  state  and  abstract  from  material 
nature,  there  to  see  those  principles  not  only,  but  also 
their  properties  and  relationships,  and  be  able  to  ar- 
range and  combine  their  units  into  immutable  chains  of 
logic ;  and  in  this  manner  proceed  to  construct  reliable 
ideal  systems  which  may  be,  and  often  are  clothed  with 
material  forms,  as  seen  in  every  new  device  that  falls 
from  the  hand  of  man,  we  are  in  a  realm  of  mind 
which  is  essentially  and  immeasurably  different  from 
that,  the  movements  of  which  are  limited  to  the  sensu- 
ous state.  Such  capacity,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  per- 
ceives the  immaterial, — properties  that  are  not  and 
never  can  be  associated  with  matter, — as  the  perception 
of  thought  itself,  for  example!  Here  we  deal  with 
another  class  of  attributes,  which  imply  the  existence, 
also,  of  a  corresponding  class  of  functions  and  sub- 
stances and  a  more  inward  and  more  controlling  realm. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

The  Moral  Element  and  State. 

AMONG  the  features  that  adorn  the  higher  state  of 
life,  the  moral  is  especially  conspicuous.  Like 
intelligence  or  like  reason  in  intelligence,  it  is  of  a  do- 
main of  its  own.  And  while  it  is  difficult  to  separately 
identify  it — intimately  joined  with  life  as  it  is,  and 
being  itself  a  living  entity, — yet  its  place  and  state  are 
approximately  definable  by  its  visible  effects  on  the  vo- 
litions of  the  human  mind. 

As  to  its  relation  with  mind,  by  its  own  conditions  as 
a  sense  allied  to  the  perception  of  abstract  properties — 
the  qualities  of  sense  and  of  thought — it  can  appear  in 
connection  with  reason  alone.  It  is  in  accord  with  af- 
fection and  very  prominently  reveals  itself  in  that  way, 
yet  is  in  no  respect  identical  therewith,  but  at  once 
separates  itself  therefrom  when  by  the  light  of  reason 
it  discovers  in  affection  conditions  of  unfitness  with  its 
nature's  requirements.  That  it  is  a  sense  in  itself,  as 
we  see  sight  or  taste  to  be,  and  not  to  be  conformded 
"with  a  mode  of  mental  perception,  is  apparent  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  primarily  a  matter  of  taste,  and  reveals 
itself  essentially  alike  in  all  human  life.  Man  might 
see,  with  absolute  clearness,  the  conditions  of  right  and 

159 


160  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

wrong,  and,  beyond  personal  convenience,  choose  the 
right  no  sooner  than  the  wrong,  but  for  the  taste  we 
here  call  the  moral  sense, — sometimes,  in  one  phase  of 
it,  conscience. 

Being  a  sense  within  itself,  its  own  peculiar  nature  is 
not  describable  by  reference  to  another,  further  than  in 
the  matter  of  mode.  So  far  as  may  be  judged,  it  de- 
rives its  satisfactions  by  its  special  capacity  for  appre- 
hending those  forms  or  adaptations  of  life  that  we 
designate  by  the  term  moral.  We  could  not  describe  the 
sense  of  sight  by  reference  to  the  recognized  quality  of 
another  sense,  and  therefore  could  not  possibly  convey 
an  idea  thereof  to  one  who  is  mentally  void  of  it ;  but 
we  could  indicate  some  of  its  uses  by  reference  to  the 
sense  of  touch,  which  joins  with  sight  in  the  observa- 
tion of  figure  and  extension.  So,  also,  while  the  moral 
taste  could  not  be  described  to  one  who  is  inherently 
void  of  it,  however  intelligent  and  cultured  otherwise 
he  might  be,  yet  some  of  its  uses  and  importance  are  to 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  social  convenience  and  re- 
finement that  result  from  it.  For  the  immoral  man 
may  still  be  a  lover  of  the  beautiful  and  of  his  kindred 
life.  And  thus  some  of  the  effects  of  morality  might  be 
apparent  and  interesting  to  him,  as  shape  and  dimen- 
sions are  to  the  blind ;  but  if  given  to  right  doing,  it 
would  be  for  the  effect's  sake  and  not  for  right's  own 
sake ;  as  the  invalid  might  eat  food  for  strength's  sake, 
and  not  for  the  sake  of  pleasure  which  a  perverted  or 
absent  taste  could  not  afford.  But  as  animal  economy 
would  be  very  insufficiently  supplied  with  food  without 


THE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  161 

a  taste  for  it,  so  would  society  be  speedily  deprived  of 
its  essential  virtues,  when  no  longer  induced  thereto  by 
the  cravings  of  its  moral  sense. 

One  will  readily  recall  the  fact  that  that  simple  ele- 
ment of  morality  called  honesty,  is  mainly  advocated 
from  the  consideration  that  it  is  a  matter  of  commercial 
necessity, — that  without  integrity  business  would  be  im- 
practicable. Hence,  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy. "  But 
this  is  desiring  the  result,  merely,  and  not  the  thing  it- 
self. The  moral  principle  is  not,  in  this  way,  recognized 
at  all, — only  its  effects.  And  that  men  do  honestly  is 
not  always  evidence  that  they  are  honest — that  it  is 
from  the  sense  of  honesty  seeking  gratification;  of 
which  the  many  depleted  individual  and  community  es- 
tates can  testify.  And  until  this  sense  is  sufficiently 
enlarged  to  make  its  demands  for  gratification  the  con- 
trolling influence  among  the  tastes  of  life,  eradicating 
the  false  sentiments  of  exclusive  selfishness,  and  found- 
ing honesty  on  a  less  precarious  principle  than  mere 
policy,  these  inflictions  must  be  expected  to  continue  to 
distress  th^  business  world. 

But  that  the  love  of  honesty  itself  is  recognized  as  a 
fact,  and  is  also  appreciated,  is  manifested  in  the  fact 
that  certain  ones  of  whom  it  is  believed  to  be  strongly 
characteristic,  are  universally  at  a  premium  in  business; 
circles. 

While  at  this  stage  of  human  development,  this  form 
of  the  moral  sense — as  indeed  all  moral  sense — is  not 
commonly  well  developed,  yet  scarcely  a  civilized  com- 
munity is  to  be  found  where  there  are  not  examples  of 
11 


162  CONSOLATIONS   OF    SCIENCE. 

it  sufficiently  strong  to  indicate  its  special  character, — 
where  public  confidence,  in  respect  to  its  possessors, 
would  not  rest  secured  in  the  presence  of  a  very  large 
measure  of  temptation.  And  the  saying  that  "  every 
man  has  his  price, "  is  a  cruel  injustice  to  many  on  this 
better  grade  of  human  life,  with  whom  neither  money 
nor  position  is  availing  to  divert  from  the  course  of 
pure  equity. 

Then  related  in  this  same  moral  sense  with  honesty, 
but  more  comprehensive  in  application,  and  not  so  par- 
ticularly commercial  in  import,  is  the  sentiment  referred 
to  in  the  word  Duty.  It  implies  obligation  or  binding 
by  the  appearance  of  fitness  in  life,  in  all  its  modes — 
in  the  personal,  social,  commercial  and  esthetical.  And 
while  it  includes  the  principles  of  justice  and  honesty 
in  all  their  applications,  it  does  not  recognize  them  by 
their  commercial  values,  but  by  their  abstract  merits  of 
satisfying  the  taste  of  equity.  To  illustrate :  One  may 
be  so  situated  as  to  be  interested  in  the  musical  taste 
of  the  community,  and  be  desirous  of  musical  attain- 
ment in  society;  but  his  interest  extends  only  to  its 
commercial  value — the  profits  of  its  trade.  This  value 
may  cause  him  to  be  a  \qij  enthusiastic  advocate  and 
patron  of  music  culture.  But,  plainly,  it  is  not  for 
music's  own  sake.  It  is  not  responding  to  the  passion 
of  music, — only  to  the  passion  of  money.  It  does  not 
suggest  to  us  the  principle  that  is  apparent  in  the  one 
who  pays  his  money  for  the  privilege  of  enjoying  the 
music.  The  former  is  yielding  to  the  taste  of  com- 
mercial value,  the  latter  to  the  taste  of  musical  value. 


THE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  163 

Then  the  one  fact  of  music  readily  employs  these  two 
very  unlike  sentiments  of  life.  In  like  manner  may  the 
facts  of  justice  and  honesty  be  appreciated  and  de- 
manded from  the  same  unlike  considerations, — the  one 
for  their  own  sake,  the  other  for  their  effects'  sake. 

So  while  Duty  makes  requisition  for  all  beneficial 
conventionalisms  of  society,  it  does  so  from  the  sense 
and  not  the  convenience  of  equity. 

Another  peculiarity  of  this  form  of  the  moral  sense 
consists  in  the  fact  that  its  motive,  or  objective  claim,  is 
to  convey  a  good  or  gain  from  self  to  another,  rather 
than  the  reverse,  and  often  expresses  itself  in  acts  of 
self-sacrifice.  And  where  self  becomes  the  subject  of 
its  desires,  it  is  by  the  way  of  that  lofty  sentiment  that 
counts  on  self  only  as  a  necessary  factor  of  the  whole, 
and  subservient  to  the  general  good,  and  whose  impar- 
tial participance  in  the  good  to  be  bestowed  individual- 
wise,  becomes  a  common  necessity.  It  actuates  life 
unselfishly  by  finding  its  own  objective  good  in  yielding 
good  to  life  beyond  the  limits  of  self.  It  is  the  source 
of  that  feeling  of  obligation  to  the  disinterested  good  of 
fellow  beings  that  is  so  adorning  to  the  habits  of  hu- 
man society,  and  is  referred  to  in  the  words  of  the 
Divine  Teacher:  "Therefore,  all  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  you  even  so  to 
them." 

That,  however,  is  not  necessarily  unselfish,  nor  what 
is  meant  by  the  term  duty,  which  prompts  the  bestow- 
ment  of  good  on  an  object  of  special  personal  interest, 
as  upon  a  friend  controlling  one's  affections  and  thereby 


or  THE 


164  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

bis  volitions.  When  done  by  the  universal  law  of 
equity,  it  is  in  accord  with  thfe  sentiment  of  duty ;  but 
even  then  it  is  due  to  another, — a  more  common  and 
inferior,  though  very  precious,  principle  of  life — selfish 
friendship,  or  self  interest  in  another, — a  principle  that 
is  expressed  in  the  provisions  that  most  animals  make 
for  their  offspring;  and  which  the  rational  and  more 
diffusive  mind  of  man  extends  to  kindred  and  other 
affinities  in  life.  But  duty  refers  to  pure  equity,  with- 
out regard  to  sympathy  of  any  form.  It  is  deferring 
to  the  good  of  another  in  pursuance  to  the  cravings  of 
equity  in  the  presence  of  manifest  worthiness,  and  not 
with  a  purpose  to  obtain  gratification  to  selfish  sympa- 
thies, however  rightful  and  holy  in  their  place  such 
may  be. 

Justice  (another  name  for  equity)  is  often  symbolized 
by  the  blind  eyes,  the  even  balances  and  drawn  sword ; 
denoting  that  the  feelmg  of  self  interest  affected  by  love 
or  by  fear  or  by  commercial  advantage,  is  not  observed 
in  determining  its  awards;  and  that  justice  is  not  a 
mere  expediency  determined  upon  by  man  while  legis- 
lating for  the  advantage  of  aggregated  humanity,  but  is 
part  of  an  original  sense  for  taking  cognizance  of  the 
moral  qualities  of  life,  indicated  by  cravings  of  this 
special  character. 

MORALITY    DEFINED. 

Taste  of  fitness  as  to  parts  and  modes  of  rational  life, 
designates  the  function  of  morality.  The  fitness  might 
exist  a-nd  be  distinctly  apparent  to  the  intellect,  without 


THE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  165 

affording  us  a  morality,  were  the  taste  therefor  wanting. 
Fitness  or  harmony  of  sounds  might  exist,  and  a 
knowledge  of  them  attained  by  ingenious  students  of 
acoustics,  but  were  there  not  taste  whereby  melody 
were  appreciable,  we  would  have  no  music  nor  be  aware 
of  its  existence,  and  its  most  sublime  executions  would 
be  liable  to  excite  disgust.  The  same  observations,  sub- 
stantially, would  be  seen  to  apply  to  all  our  pleasing 
arts,  in  which  such  great  accomplishments  are  attained, 
and  of  which  we  have  such  immeasurable  good. 

It  is  to  be  still  further  observed  that  by  way  of  these 
several  tastes  of  life,  by  which  the  arts  are  appreciated, 
these  lovely  harmonies,  so  characterizing  nature,  serve 
immeasurably  to  awaken  life  and  to  extend  its  powers. 
So  also  the  pure  moral  sense  perceiving  the  charms  of 
a  life  of  true  morality,  is  the  source  of  a  constant  and 
surpassing  joy  not  alone,  but  of  the  enlargement  of  life. 
Hence,  too,  the  noted  fact  that  morality  is  life-giving 
and  immorality  is  devitalizing  to  the  mind.  While, 
therefore,  the  moral  sense  suffices  to  promote  the  in- 
dispensable principle  of  equity,  the  high  order  of  hap- 
piness it  confers  by  bringing  into  consciousness  the 
beauty  of  fitness  in  social  and  divine  relations  of  life, 
is  a  surpassing  blessing  to  the  race,  by  stimulating  life 
to  all  proper  attainments. 

THE  MORAL  SENSE  AND  THE    BRUTE. 

As  the  element  of  reason  has  been  claimed  in  small 
measures,  or  in  incipiency,  for  the  lower  forms  of  ani- 
mals, so  also  has  it  been  claimed  that  the  moral  sense, 


X66  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

or  the  begmning  of  it,  is  a  factor  in  the  brute  economy. 
But  as  we  have  seen  an  absence  of  that  superior  men- 
tality in  all  forms  of  life  below  the  human — no  phenom- 
ena occurring  there  that  are  necessarily  acts  of  reason — 
so,  likewise,  do  we  find  upon  a  most  thorough  and  care- 
ful examination  of  the  facts  adduced  in  evidence  of  this 
claim,  that  they  lack  the  conditions  of  life  that  render 
the  presence  of  the  moral  sense  a  necessity.  Admitting 
without  questioning  as  to  possible  extravagances  in  the 
reported  examples  referred  to  (for  most  of  them  are 
taken  on  trust),  they  are  yet  inadequate  to  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  a  final  test  for  that  divine  sense.  All 
the  notable  feats  referred  to  are  easily  traceable  to  selfish 
instinct  in  harmony  with  personal  ends  in  these  animals 
— the  good  falling  luithin  the  limits  of  self  interest  and 
not  beyond.  They  are  but  instances  of  sensing  a  good 
wherein  self  is,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  sole  end,  and 
not  where  the  abstract  principle  of  right — sensing  the 
equity  itself  in  the  mutual  modes  of  life,  already  set 
forth — is  the  motive. 

As  the  late  Mr.  Darwin's  views  on  natural  history 
are  authority  with  what  may  be  called  the  Darwinian 
school  of  naturalist,  outside  of  which  we  find  but  few 
scientists  of  note  claiming  the  moral  sense  for  the  brute, 
it  will  not  be  necessary  to  introduce  examples  other 
than  the  most  important  of  those  he  has  seen  fit  to 
give.  This  would  be  especially  proper  from  the  fact  that 
he  seems  strongly  inclined  to  correct  what  he  regards 
as  an  error,  that  which  would  limit  the  moral  sense  to 
the  realm  of  man,  and  may  be  expected  to  support  his 


THE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  1G7 

cause  by  selecting  the  most  convincing  examples ;  and 
also  because  his  range  of  observation  in  the  field  of 
natural  history  has  been  quite  as  extensive  as  that  of 
any  one  of  this  greatest  age ;  and  still  further  because  his 
work  consists  more  in  tabulating  statistics  than  evolving 
theories  of  this  great  science,  and  that  he  is,  on  the 
whole,  as  unbiased  and  fair  in  his  conclusions  as  any 
one  we  could  name.  It  is  important  also  in  accepting 
statements  in  evidence,  that  they  come  to  us  from  com- 
petent witnesses — that  no  essential  fact  has  been  over- 
looked. Hence  it  requires  one  who  knows  what  facts 
are  needed  and  to  be  looked  for,  and  who  has  no 
undue  prominence  of  faculty  for  drawing  facts  from  the 
imagination  or  confounding  a  fact  of  one  class  with  that 
of  another.  And  so  while  thousands  of  good  people 
and  good  judges  in  their  specialties,  might  be  anxious 
to  submit  their  observations  on  this  subject,  being  con- 
fident that  in  a  favorite  dog,  horse,  cow,  cat  or  bird 
they  had  witnessed  as  distinct  a  morality  as  that  in 
man,  we  could  take  no  risk  on  their  judgment,  till  there 
was  proof  of  their  qualification  to  apply  the  proper 
tests. 

The  pure  scientist  in  our  specialty,  who,  besides  his 
love  of  truth,  has  his  reputation  as  a  scientist  at  stake 
under  a  thousand  closely  dissecting  eyes,  who  is  never 
satisfied  with  superficial  appearances,  who  moves  toward 
conclusions  slowly  and  allows  no  secret  possibility  to  es- 
cape him,  is  the  proper  one  from  whom  to  have  the 
facts  we  wish  to  apply  to  our  inquiry.     It  is,  however, 


168  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

true,  that  an  expert  may  draw  from  a  witness  in  respect 
to  a  case  more  than  the  witness  himself  knows. 

The  instances  adduced  by  Mr.  Darwin  (Descent  of 
Man,  vol.  1,  pp.  71 — 75)  in  support  of  the  theory  in 
question,  are  few  indeed,  and,  with  perhaps  two  excep- 
tions, are  of  very  commonplace  character.  His  method 
is  by  exhibiting  deportments  supposed  to  be  parallel  with 
the  moral  sense  in  man ;  namely,  of  mutual  aid.  But 
mutual  aid  may  be  prompted  by  a  variety  of  animal 
motives  without  any  necessary  reference  to  the  moral 
element.  The  idea  of  the  mutual  in  life  plainly  par- 
takes of  the  selfish  character,  and  of  a  personal  good. 
Also,  mutual  aid  may  occur  where  even  the  idea  of  it 
does  not  occur — by  incidental  arrangement.  Thus  when 
the  timid,  nervous  rabbit,  sheep  or  chamois,  whose  safety 
lies  in  the  power  of  its  legs,  unconsciously,  in  readiness 
to  spring,  stamps  the  ready  foot  on  the  ground,  the  act 
would  at  once  startle  its  equally  suspecting  companions. 
The  leader,  too,  of  a  troop  of  monkeys,  whose  place 
is  necessarily  in  the  line  of  march  and  ranged  in  the 
eyes  of  the  whole  company,  may  unconsciously  display 
a  warning  to  his  companions,  from  the  fact  that  danger 
would  be  first  apparent  to  his  advanced  position.  He 
may  well  "  act  as  a  sentinel "  and  be  unconscious  of 
acting  for  any  one  but  himself.  So  of  the  bird  that  is 
perched  aloft.  To  it  not  only  is  danger  more  apparent, 
but  its  more  lonely  position  renders  it  more  cautious ; 
and  while  its  first  discovering  and  first  moving  in  flight, 
alarming  its  companions,  would  suggest  the  idea  of 
"sentinel"  to  a  rational  being,  all  could  as  well  take 


THE    MORAL    ELEiMENT    AND    STATE.  169 

place  from  this  accidental  arrangement.  And  does  not 
the  baboon  attract  more  attention  in  an  effort  to  over- 
turn a  stone  of  unusual  size  ?  And  may  not  the  rush 
of  companions  to  his  assistance  be  from  the  prospect 
of  more  abundant  insects,  rather  than  from  considera- 
tion of  friendly  aid  ?  The  better  proof  of  friendly  aid 
would  be  that  these  baboons,  after  having  overturned 
the  stone,  would  leave  their  companion  in  the  undivided 
possession  of  the  uncovered  morsels  which  were  his  by 
right  of  discovery ! 

One  may  imagine,  who  does  not  know,  how  distress- 
ing is  the  presence  of  parasites,  and  that  the  relief 
from  them  would  be  greatly  desired ;  and  when  done  by 
a  rational  being  would  be  accorded  to  the  motive  of 
benevolence.  And  from  these  appearances  our  distin- 
guished naturalist  is  considering  the  act  of  monkeys 
searching  each  other's  persons  for  these  troublesome 
concomitants,  as  evidence  of  moral  principle,  or  at 
least,  social  aid;  and  it  might  be  difficult  to  account 
for  the  seeming  generosity  on  other  grounds,  if  these 
parasites  were  not  relished  by  them  as  food !  The  tor- 
mented one  becomes  quiescent  under  the  sense  of  relief, 
while  the  motives  of  the  relief  are  the  little  relishes  on 
the  neighboring  skin.  And  by  these  facts,  we  may  eas- 
ily explain  the  not  very  wonderful  fact  cited  by  him 
(p.  72)  from  Mr.  Brehm,  who  states,  with  much  con- 
fidence, that  after  a  troop  of  monkeys  "has  rushed 
through  a  thorny  brake,  each  monkey  stretches  itself  on 
a  branch,  and  another  monkey  sitting  by,  'conscien- 
tiously' examines  its  fur  and  extracts  every  thorn  or 


170  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

burr."  Essentially  the  same  irritation  of  the  skin  as 
produced  by  parasites,  would  at  once  also  suggest  the 
same  mode  of  relief,  and  its  invitation  by  the  recum- 
bent position;  while  the  search  for  the  usual  objects 
would  result  in  the  removal,  incidentally  or  by  way  of 
testing  their  fitness  for  food,  the  foreign  substances  that 
might  be  lodged  there,  without  necessarily  involving  the 
least  measure  of  sympathy. 

Still  another  class  of  facts  he  represents  by  state- 
ments, first,  from  Captain  Stansbury,  who  "  found,  on 
a  salt  lake  in  Utah,  an  old  and  completely  blind  pelican, 
which  v/as  very  fat,  and  must  have  been  long  and  well 
fed  by  his  companions ; "  and,  secondly,  a  correspond- 
ing one  from  Mr.  Bly,  who  saw  blind  crows  fed  by  their 
companions.  But  one  will  readily  recall  the  quarreling 
carnivals  of  these  birds,  especially  the  latter  class,  ab- 
stracting food  from  each  other's  mouths  by  the  very  op- 
posite from  friendly  sentiments.  Then  it  is  also  to  be 
remembered  with  what  special  care  blind  animals  ad- 
here to  their  companions,  and  to  what  remarkable 
extent  they  make  their  other  senses  supply  to  them  the 
use  of  sight ;  and  by  these  the  solution  of  what  there 
is  in  these  examples,  if  not  easy,  is  yet  very  possible,  by 
the  possibility  of  pursuit  and  robbery  yet  remaining 
with  these  afflicted  ones.  And  if  then  there  is  no  miscal- 
culation in  respect  to  these  last  instances,  just  reviewed^ 
all  instances  of  mutual  aid  thus  far  adduced  by  Mr. 
Darwin  as  evidence  of  moral  sense  in  the  lower  animals, 
are  fairly  and  easily  explained  by  the  theory  of  mere 
selfish  instinct  operating  under  casual  allotment,  and 


THE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  171 

without  reference  of  any  sort  to  the  welfare  of  com- 
panions. 

That  moral  intelligence  would  dictate  arrangements 
for  mutual  aid,  and,  to  some  extent,  in  form  like  the 
foregoing,  were  most  natural  indeed.  But  that  they  may 
occur  from  the  most  dissimilar  causes  is  equally  plain. 
And  the  question  as  to  which  of  the  knowTi  causes  shall 
be  assigned  in  a  given  case,  is  always  to  be  answered 
by  reference  to  the  grade  of  life  to  which  the  animal 
concerned,  belongs. 

But  the  facts  adduced  which  are  entitled  to  the  most 
consideration,  are  those  in  which  there  is  so  evidently 
the  feeling  of  behalf  or  sympathy,  and  which  is .  seem- 
ingly quite  another  sentiment  from  that  of  mere  desire 
of  companionship.  The  latter,  though  often  partaking 
of  sympathy,  may  exist  without  it,  and  is  sometimes 
equivalent  to  mere  affinity  with  surroundings, — which 
surrounding  may  be  of  animate  or  inanimate  nature, — 
as  one  feels  pleasure  in  the  presence  of  flowers  or  in 
mountain  or  water  scenery  or  works  of  art,  and  may  be 
so  strongly  attached  to  these  as  to  leave  kindred  asso- 
ciates for  their  companionship.  The  fact  is  probably 
due  to  pleasure  derived  from  certain  expressions  of  form 
or  movement  on  the  part  of  these  objects,  which  har- 
monize with  a  corresponding  consciousness  or  taste  in 
the  attracted  life.  To  be  sure,  companionship  of  this 
kind  is  usually  of  much  less  power  than  that  of  ani- 
mate life,  which  may  also  be  from  the  fact  of  its  repre- 
senting less  of  the  conditions  that  are  required  in 
response  to  the  great  and  intricate  variety  of  animal 


172  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

sentiments.  But  the  love  of  companionship  is  no  cer- 
tain proof  of  an  interlying  sympathy;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  most  tender  sympathy  may  be  without 
a  corresponding  measure  of  desire  to  associate, — indeed 
may  exist  with  no  desire  of  companionship  by  the  mutu- 
ally affected  parties.  In  fact,  finding  the  two  sentiments 
happily  going  together,  as  in  the  case  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy, is  no  evidence  that  they  are  related  or  spring  from 
the  same  cause. 

SYMPATHY    DEFINED. 

Sympathy,  the  chief  basis  of  friendship  in  society,  is 
one  of  the  many  forms  of  that  oneness  of  life  denoted 
by  the  general  term  affection  —  self  represented  in 
another  by  a  living,  reciprocating  bond  that  interlies  and 
pervades  all  of  life  that  ebbs  and  flows  on  the  same 
level.  This  bond  may  be  illustrated  by  reference  to 
ordinary  magnetism — material  affection,  which,  though 
it  is  manifested  only  in  its  individualized  or  polarized 
forms,  is  nevertheless  the  same  active  substance  at  all 
the  points  of  the  seeming  vacuums  between,  and  is  that 
by  which  the  self  of  one  individual  substance  is  identi- 
fied with  all  others  on  the  same  plane. 

Hence  sympathy  is  realized  in  the  home  heart  when 
want  is  agitating  another. 

But  the  sympathizing  bond  cannot  extend  beyond  its 
own  element,  nor  can  it  be  realized  at  all,  speaking  of 
it  in  the  customary  way,  save  in  the  negative  or  want- 
ing state  of  another.  From  this  fact  we  have  the  adult's 
tenderness  toward  the  young  offspring ;  and  in  it,  too, 


TEE    MORAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  173 

considering  the  intimate  nearness  of  the  child  in  the 
order  of  nature,  and  hence  the  correspondingly  increased 
power  of  the  bond,  we  see  the  cause  of  that  wonderful 
self-denial  of  the  mother  in  behalf  of  the  infant  nest- 
ling in  her  provident  arms. 

From  this  principle  also  the  child  may  feel  sympathy 
for  the  parent  or  the  weaker  for  the  stronger,  when  the 
latter  is  regarded  by  the  former  as  affected  by  some  form 
of  yearning  or  pain. 

And  need  we  to  look  farther  than  this  for  all  that  is 
essential  to  account  entirely  for  those  sympathizing  de- 
portments of  the  lap-dog  and  the  monkey  cited  by  Mr. 
Darwin  ?  In  the  first  of  these  examples  he  related  an 
instance  of  a  somewhat  common  occurrence,  "  a  person 
pretending  to  beat  a  lady  who  had  a  very  timid  little  dog 
on  her  lap.  *  *  The  little  creature  instantly  jumped 
away,  but,  after  the  pretended  beating  was  over,  it  was 
really  pathetic  to  see  how  perseveringly  he  tried  to  lick 
his  mistress'  face  and  comfort  her"  (ibid,  p.  74).  How 
readily  to  a  moral  being,  accustomed  to  the  use  of  the 
moral  sense,  this  demeanor  would  suggest  a  moral  fac- 
ulty in  the  dog ;  while  in  fact  it  is  but  an  instance  of 
sympathy  matured  into  a  prominence  sufficient  to  actu- 
ate the  ordinary  instinct  of  the  animal ;  though  much 
weaker  than  that  with  which  the  parent  dog  caresses  her 
young  progeny  when  seeking  to  restore  them  when 
abused,  or  to  supply  food  to  their  hungry  mouths,  when 
their  clamor  indicates  their  want  of  it,  for  which  acts 
of  routine  life,  no  one  has   claimed  a  moral  quality. 


174  COXSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 

It  is  all  within  the  provisions  of  self-interest.     The  ex- 
ample of  the  monkey  is  as  follows : 

"  Several  years  ago  a  keeper  at  the  Zoological 
Gordens  showed  me  some  deep  and  scarcely  healed 
wounds  on  the  nape  of  his  neck,  inflicted  on  him 
while  kneeling  on  the  floor  by  a  fierce  baboon.  The 
little  American  monkey,  who  was  a  strong  friend  of  this 
keeper,  lived  in  the  same  large  compartment,  and  was 
dreadfully  afraid  of  the  great  baboon.  Nevertheless, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  the  keeper  in  peril,  he  rushed  to  the 
rescue,  and  by  screams  and  bites  so  distracted  the 
baboon  that  the  man  was  able  to  escape,"  (ibid,  p.  75). 

In  this  case  of  the  abused  as  well  as  petted  monkey, 
it  is  rather  difficult  to  decide  whether  its  conduct  was 
prompted  more  from  sympathy  with  the  keeper  than 
from  consideration  of  revenge  on  the  baboon,  of  which 
the  conflict  afforded  an  opportunity.  But  let  us  suppose 
that  it  was  the  former,  and  we  shall  have  but  another  of 
the  numerous  illustrations  following  this  law  of  oneness 
or  sympathy  pervading  the  same  level  of  animated 
being ;  in  the  nature  of  which  there  is  always  at  least 
enough  of  self  and  self- consideration,  so  that  the  acts 
arising  therefrom  may  be  regarded  as  prompted  by  self 
interest.  No  sentiment  higher  than  this  is  required  to 
explain  this  not  at  all  remarkable  transaction. 

Another  instance  from  our  author  in  this  same  con- 
nection, and  again  cited  from  Brehm,  is  that,  *'When 
the  baboons  in  Abyssinia  plunder  a  garden,  they  silently 
follow  their  leader ;  and  if  an  imprudent  young  animal 


THE    :>iurv.^L    ELEMENT    AND    STATE,  175 

makes  a  noise  he  receives  a  slap  from  the  others  to 
teach  him  silence  and  obedience ;  but  as  soon  as  they 
are  sure  that  there  is  no  danger,  all  show  their  joy  by 
much  clamor."  Now  his  statement  as  to  these  pro- 
cedures is  easily  accepted.  But  not  quite  so  with  his 
inferences.  Thieves  of  any  order  of  animals  operate  as 
much  as  possible  in  silence  and  under  cover ;  and  noises 
likely  to  betray  them  are  no  doubt  aggravating  and  sug- 
gestive of  the  customary  means  of  resentment,  which 
with  lower  animals  commonly  fall  upon  the  weaker  ones. 
A.nd  that  the  slaps  referred  to  are  for  discipline,  what- 
ever they  may  incidentally  result  in,  is  far  less  probable 
than  that  they  are  for  the  more  ordinary  purpose  of 
easing  a  passion  !  But  why  did  our  observing  natural- 
ist not  state  the  fact  that  these  baboons  usually  leave 
their  quite  young  ones  behind  when  engaged  in  these 
depredations,  and  infer  that  they  do  so  from  a  desire  to 
not  have  them  fall  under  the  influence  of  stealing !  With 
respect  to  dogs  possessing  "  something  very  much  like 
a  conscience, "  it  were  not  wonderful  that  under  domes- 
tication, and  their  special  intimacy  with  mankind  in 
that  state,  for  many  hundreds  of  generations,  the  many 
observations  of  the  traits  of  man,  as  to  carefulness  and 
trusting,  should  often  produce  temporary  modifications 
of  their  character  into  resemblances  of  these.  But  as 
in  respect  to  apparent  reason  in  lower  animals,  so  of 
these  modifications,- — they  are  not  reported  of  the  dog 
away  from  the  influence  of  man — his  favorite  compan- 
ion. 

The  error  from  which  the  supposition  arises  that  mor- 


176  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

ality  is  resident  (incipiently)  in  the  brute,  consists  in 
assuming  that,  as  seen  in  man,  it  is  a  consummation  or 
superior  form  of  a  lower  and  more  simple  element^ 
probably  the  social  instinct.  Mr.  Darwin  says :  "  The 
following  proposition  seems  to  me  in  a  high  degree  proba- 
ble— namely,  that  any  animal  whatever,  endowed  with 
well  marked  social  instincts,  would  inevitably  acquire  a 
moral  sense  or  a  conscience,  as  soon  as  its  intellectual 
powers  had  become  as  well  developed  as  in  man  "  (De- 
scent, vol.  1,  p.  68).  But  this  statement,  so  fairly  pre- 
senting the  theory  under  review,  fails  not  to  bring  to 
notice  the  objections  in  which  it  is  involved.  It  assumes 
this  possibility  not  for  all  social  instincts.  Only  those 
within  a  certain  undefined  limit — those  of  "  well  marked 
social  instincts " — are  capable  of  attaining  a  moral 
sense.  But  where  does  this  limit  lie  ?  And  what  does 
it  consist  in  ?  Is  that  which  is  not  so  "  well  marked, " 
lacking  the  basic  principle  of  the  moral  sense  ?  are 
questions  whose  answers  are  of  essential  importance  in 
the  analysis  of  this  problem.  By  this  it  is  apparent 
that  the  mere  unqualified  social  instinct  is  without  the 
properties  requisite  for  the  moral  sense,  and  that  only 
that  social  instinct  is  sufficiently  marked  which  is  sup- 
plemented by  the  requisite  property  or  element ;  which 
would  most  naturally  be  the  superior  or  moral  sense  it- 
self. Then,  still  further,  the  acquisition  is  made  con- 
tingent on  intellectual  powers  "  as  well  developed,  or 
nearly  as  well  'developed,  as  in  man ; "  assuming,  sub- 
stantially, that  those  favored  animals  must  wait  for 


THE    MOBAL    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  177 

their  moral  sense  till  they  become  human !  Well,  that 
will  do ! 

But  this  conclusion  is  justified  by  his  own  statements 
further  on :  "  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  difference 
between  the  mind  of  the  lowest  man  and  that  of  the 
highest  animal  is  immense.  An  antln'opomorphous  ape, 
if  he  could  take  a  dispassionate  view  of  his  own  case, 
would  admit  that  though  he  could  form  artful  plans  to 
plunder  a  garden — though  he  could  use  stones  for  fight- 
ing and  for  breaking  open  nuts,  yet  that  the  thought  of 
fashioning  a  stone  into  a  tool  was  quite  beyond  his  scope. 
Still  less,  as  he  would  admit,  could  he  follow  out  a 
train  of  metaphysical  reasoning,  or  solve  a  mathemat- 
ical problem,  or  reflect  on  God,  or  admire  a  grand  nat- 
ural scene  "  (p.  100).  With  these  admissions,  in  the 
face  of  his  proposition  just  reviewed,  conceding  the 
"  immense  "  difference  that  he  here  finds  lying  between 
the  mental  and  moral  states  occupied  by  the  lowest 
man  and  the  highest  animal,  it  signifies  little  that  he 
adds  that  the  difference  "  is  certainly  one  of  degree  and 
not  of  kind. "  And  this  is  especially  true,  as  some  ever 
present  deficiency,  which  none  of  his  school  have  hinted 
at  explaining,  has  thus  far  prevented  the  latter  from 
overcoming  that  difference;  while  having  the  same 
world,  and  the  same  chance  as  that  of  man,  and  an 
earlier  start  in  which  to  accomplish  it. 

However,  let  the  social  instinct  be  understood  to  con- 
sist of  all  that  this  school  of  thinkers  claim  for  it — lei 
it  be  regarded  as  being  from  the  bond  of  sympathy, 
from  the  sense  of  mutual  aid,  or  commercial  obligation, 

12 


178  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

yet  it  is  not  the  moral  sense  nor  the  element  from  which 
the  moral  sense  is  derived.  Its  essential  requirements 
are  not  supplied  by  any  of  these  conditions ;  while,  nev- 
ertheless, it  is  the  chief  motive  and  authority  for  their 
wise  use ;  for  to  the  Taste  of  Fitness,  as  to  the  parts 
and  modes  of  rational  life — the  equity  between  its 
members  and  the  esthetical  in  its  manners — we  must 
ever  look  for  the  persistence  of  the  spirit  of  rectitude 
and  of  virtue  among  mankind.  And  of  this  taste  or 
sense,  after  all,  perhaps  no  one  would  expect  to  find 
even  so  much  as  a  trace,  in  all  the  living  domain  below 
man. 

Man  is  of  the  very  latest  arrivals  on  the  planet.  The 
lower  orders  were  in  the  exclusive  possession  of  this 
same  world  for  untold  ages  before  his  arrival,  and 
since  his  arrival,  all  its  advantages  and  all  its  good  in- 
fluences have  been  as  free  and  liberal  to  the  brute  as  to 
him.  And  now  that  with  all  these  the  brute  has  yet  no 
taste  for  the  moral  qualities  in  life,  can  only  be  under- 
stood by  the  theory  that  that  element  is  without  repre- 
sentation on  so  low  a  plane,  but  is  of  a  state  of  life 
which  is  superior  and  farther  inward. 

And  now,  too,  the  pleasing  fact  is  before  us — one 
which  tends  to  move  the  profoundest  sense  of  gratitude 
— that  with  the  superior  state  of  being,  wherein  are  all 
the  superior  forces,  there  also  resides  the  moral  sense — 
the  taste  for  the  moral  qualities  of  life ;  and  that  on 
beyond  the  finite — in  the  realm  of  the  Supreme — ^in  the 
soul  of  the  Deity — its  absolute  perfections  mingle  with 
the  volitions  from  which  the  finite  universe  derives  its 


THE    MOEAL   ELEMENT    AND    STATE.  179 

laws  and  limitations.  And,  in  the  same  view,  an  equal 
cause  for  thankfulness  is  in  the  fact  that  where  this 
moral  sense  does  not  extend,  there  also  are  the  smaller 
measures  of  power  to  secure  ends  of  injustice ;  it  being 
always  the  weaker  and  less  capable  side  of  nature,  and 
that  the  enactments  of  which  are  at  most  temporary — 
in  time  yielding  to  that  spirit  of  supreme  goodness 
whose  beneficence  extends  finally  to  all  forms  of  feeling 
life. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

The  Eeligious  Element  and  State. 

IN  human  economy  the  several  manifestations  of  af- 
fection are  not  attributable  to  the  modified  uses  of  the 
one  general  function,  influenced  to  operate  in  these  sev- 
eral ways  by  a  conscious  obligation  to  the  several  re- 
lated conditions  of  life.  This  were  the  more  convenient 
way  of  judging  of  the  matter ;  but,  however  evidently 
appropriate  were  bonds  to  strengthen  these  human  re- 
lationships, the  fact  of  appropriateness,  clearly  seen 
and  appreciated,  were  wholly  inadequate  to  account  for 
the  several  forms  of  fondness  expressed  in  them.  The 
many  instances  of  lost  affection,  of  either  of  the  forms, 
where  the  appropriateness  for  its  continuance  remained 
fully  apparent  to  all  concerned,  are  sufficient  evidence 
that  they  do  not  arise  from  the  sense  of  their  necessity, 
fitness,  or  desirableness. 

Besides,  by  a  more  thorough  examination,  instead  of 
merely  one  general  function  so  widely  versatile,  we  find 
a  group  with  their  special  attributes  adapting  life  to  the 
several  forms  of  its  relationship  and  impassioning  it 
accordingly.  Neither  is  it  in  all  cases  very  difficult  to 
separate  the  parts  into  their  distinct  natures,  to  be  thus 
seen  to  be  original  factors  of  the  indissoluble  self  of 

180 


THE    EELIGIOUS    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.         181 

man,  and  of  the  most  essential  and  beneficent  arrange- 
ments of  human  economy. 

Without  the  requisite  form  of  affection,  one  might 
know  another  as  a  convenience  but  not  as  a  friend. 
Friendship  would  suggest  a  convenience  readily  enough 
at  all  times.  But  not  so,  reversely.  The  friend  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  highest  uses  in  life;  but  these  uses, 
apart  from  this  requisite  form  of  affinity,  would  not  in- 
duce the  consciousness  of  friendship.  Without  still 
another,  one  might  know  his  properly  wedded  compan- 
ion as  a  friend,  but  not  as  a  conjugal  mate.  Without 
the  filial  form,  one  might  recognize  another  as  his  special 
benefactor,  even  as  his  progenitor,  but  yet  not  as  a 
parent — an  object  of  filial  gratification.  With  it,  there 
is  realized  a  sense  of  deference  for  life  in  the  parental 
state  generally — prominently  when  it  is  ranking  in  sen- 
iority, and  ardently  for  the  immediate  progenitors  of  self. 
In  the  final  and  the  highest  use,  it  excites  sentiments 
of  adoration  for  the  Deity — the  Supreme  Progenitor — in 
him  to  find,  with  no  lessening  of  its  force  in  respect  to 
human  parentage,  its  final  gratification.  Still  another 
illustration :  One  might  be  providently  disposed  toward 
a  child ;  not  alone  from  the  consideration  of  its  depend- 
ent condition  and  possibly  an  interest  in  it  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  unfolding  of  the  rare  qualities  of  a 
human  life,  but  from  the  more  forcible  consideration  of 
its  owing  its  origin  in  the  world  to  him,  and  yet,  without 
the  requisite  form  of  affection,  fail  to  be  moved  toward 
it  by  the  greatest — the  all-over-shadowing  motive  of 
parental  love. 


182  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

Now  it  is  to  be  conceded  that  some  of  these  forms  are 
not  readily  so  separated  as  to  be  separately  viewed. 
However,  the  difficulty  is  easily  enough  explained.  It 
is,  in  part,  from  the  presence  of  the  customary  dispo- 
sition to  view  all  phenomena  of  this  character  as 
emanating  from  one  and  the  same  principle  of  life.  Be- 
sides, occasions  which  evoke  these  several  forms  of  af- 
fection are  transient  or  intermittent,  giving  the  appear- 
ance of  an  oscillating  action  of  the  mind,  moving  re- 
sponsively  to  the  various  occasions  eliciting  it,  render- 
ing the  impression  that  it  is  but  the  one  principle  of 
mind  in  all  cases.  But  in  these  disappearances  instead 
of  anything  like  an  arbitrary  discontinuance  of  the 
special  form  in  a  given  case,  it  should  be  understood  as 
having  simply  dropped  into  latency,  from  the  presence 
of  conditions  unfavorable  to  its  manifestation;  the 
same  as  life  is  known  to  do  under  exposure  to  devitaliz- 
ing influences;  ready,  however,  to  reappear  with  the 
recurrence  of  the  required  conditions. 

Then,  again,  some  of  the  forms  are  feebly  developed, 
even  on  the  human  plane.  Some  are  occasionally,  and 
others  probably  altogether,  absent  from  the  lower  king- 
dom. There  the  conjugal  rarely  appears  and,  for  many 
reasons,  the  filial  does  not  exist ;  while  of  friendship 
properly,  the  probability  is  that  what  is  taken  for  it,  in 
the  lower  animals,  is  nothing  higher  than  merely  love 
of  companionship.  The  fact  then  that  they  are  weak 
and  not  fully  demonstrative,  would,  of  course,  render 
the  work  of  distinguishing  them  more  difficult.  And 
hence  no  difficulties  of  this  character  can  properly  con- 


THE    RELIGIOUS    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.         183 

stitute  objections  to  the  claim  respecting  affection,  as 
above  set  forth. 

Then,  likewise,  a  special  psychical  sense  for  appre- 
hending the  Deity  is  made  necessary  by  the  uniform 
presence  of  a  persistent  tendency  in  human  life  to  acts 
that  have  solitary  reference  to  such  an  existence.  The 
filial  sense  will  not  account  for  this.  One  may  know 
another  as  a  parent  and  not  as  a  deity.  Or  he  might 
know  an  object  as  a  deity  and  not  as  a  parent.  From 
the  parental  nature  being  found  in  a  deity,  it  does  not 
follow  that  the  deific  is  found  in  a  parent.  Neither 
is  the  sentiment,  subjectively,  a  product  of  the  mental 
state.  The  human  mind,  with  more  or  less  clearness, 
is  universally  apprehensive  of  a  sublime  living  existence 
which  nothing  in  the  limits  of  the  finite  domain  fully 
comports  with.  It  is  possessed  of  a  certain  sense,  in 
varying  prominence,  that  in  no  nation,  cultured  or  un- 
cultured, the  highest  mere  human  ideal  will  satisfy  to 
adequate  fullness. 

Mind  would  be  able  to  locate  a  cause  back  of  phe- 
nomena ;  and  so,  also,  prior  to  all  finite  phenomena, 
whatever  they  might  be,  a  first  cause  ;  but  it  could  not 
apprehend,  in  respect  to  the  attributes  and  character 
thereof,  any  thing  not  functionally  represented  in  itself. 
It  could  not  recognize  in  it  the  moral  quality,  unless  in 
itself  resided  a  function  of  the  moral  nature  to  render 
it  morally  sentient.     So,  then,  while  the  unaided  sense 

of  philosophy  would  readily  confirm  a  suggestion  of  the 

• 

Deity,  it  could  not  suggest  Him.     It  also  entirely  con- 


184  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

firms  music ;  but,  in  the  unmusical  mind,  it  could  not  * 
suggest  music! 

Besides,  a  purely  mental  or  psychical  sense  is  without 
external  organization,  as  mental  sight,  for  example; 
and  is  denoted  only  by  its  special  form  of  force  persist- 
ently developing  its  characteristics  to  view  in  life.  And 
the  presence  of  the  characteristics  is,  unavoidably, 
proof  of  the  force  and  of  the  substance  or  essence  from 
whence  they  emanate ;  as  truly  so  as  a  sentient  mode  of 
life  denotes  the  sense  of  sight.  Correlatively,  also,  the 
existence  of  the  sense  is  proof  of  its  objective's  reality. 

But  an  argument  for  the  existence  of  the  special 
sense  through  which  the  supreme  is  impressed  upon 
finite  consciousness,  were  well-nigh  as  superfluous  to  one 
who  has  considered  its  prevalence,  as  were  one  made 
for  the  existence  of  the  special  sense  of  sight.  And-  it 
may  in  this  connection  only  be  said  that  this  variously 
employed  sense,  joined  with  the  sense  of  fitness  in 
the  modes  and  relations  of  life,  constitutes  that  super- 
ethical  sentiment  known  by  the  venerated  name  of  Ke- 
ligion.  And  it  is  from  this  sense  of  fitness  being  joined 
to  that  of  the  recognition  of  the  Deity  in  his  supreme 
worthiness  that  the  human  mind  so  commonly  recog- 
nizes in  religion  its  supreme  obligations.  Also,  in 
accordance  with  this  fact,  this  same  high  deference  to 
religion,  when  correctly  formulated  in  the  mind,  is  in- 
dispensable to  a  well-balanced  and  properly  sentient 
life. 

This  function  of  consciousness  of  the  existence  of  the 
Supreme  Being  is  induced  to  activity  by  the  powerful 


THE    EELIGIOUS    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.         185 

taste  of  fitness  in  life  joined  with  it ;  while,  by  a  similar 
relation,  it  derives  from  the  faculty  of  reason  sentient 
confirmation  and  also  the  power  of  discerning  suitable 
modes  of  its  gratification.  And  in  combination  with 
these  chief  senses,  it  constitutes  religion  not  only  a  con- 
trolling, but,  in  the  same  measure,  a  refining  and  an  ac- 
complishing power  in  life. 

In  all  examples  of  religion  this  taste  of  fitness  has 
appeared  as  its  main  impulse ;  but  when  not  associated 
with  a  lucid  reason  to  apprehend  proper  principles  for 
its  observance,  the  impulse,  thus  deprived  of  its  mental 
eyes,  has  often  staggered  through  blindness  to  the  per- 
petration of  gross  improprieties  and  dreadful  crimes,  of 
which  history  has  been  a  ready  and  commonly  a  very 
willing  witness. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  in  the  less  sentient  minds,  the 
conception  of  worthiness  in  the  Deity  is  mainly  limited 
to  his  more  obvious  attribute  of  supreme  power,  in  its 
external  manifestation ;  while,  to  the  more  sentient,  the 
qualities  of  his  life — the  tastes  and  the  forms  of  affection 
in  the  deific  Being — are  measurably  apparent.  Hence 
on  this  grade  the  divine  worthiness  is  estimated  by  the 
standard  of  a  totally  different  and  greatly  superior 
order  of  values,  awakening  also  a  correspondingly 
higher  and  stronger  sense  of  obligation. 

From  this  greater  eminence  of  life,  less  value,  com^ 
paratively,  is  seen  in  the  mightiness  and  the  intelligence 
of  the  Deity  to  do  as  he  pleases,  than  in  his  endearing 
attributes  which  respond  to  the  sentiments  of  affection 
and  the  taste  of  fitness, — even  though  in  his  supreme 


186  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

power  and  wisdom  he  is  seen  maintaining  the  constitu- 
tion of  nature  by  a  system  of  absolutely  perfect  and 
unchangeable  laws,  as  we  so  plainly  see  him  to  be  doing. 
And  it  is  on  this  plane  of  life — ^where  these  realizations 
in  respect  to  the  Deity  are  duly  strong  in  human  con- 
sciousness— that  religion  becomes  a  supreme  adoration. 
On  this  plane,  too,  by  the  nature  of  these  facts,  man 
becomes  unalterably  inclined  to  attain  the  accomplish- 
ments of  his  mental  and  moral  nature  in  more  and 
more  of  the  perfection  in  which  they  appear  in  the  Di- 
vine Personality. 

And,  now,  along  with  the  superior  qualities  of  life, 
seen  to  be  belonging  to  the  inner  and  superior  state 
— with  reason  and  the  moral  sense — we  add,  in  con- 
clusion, the  sense  of  consciousness  of  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing ;  it  being  the  essential  factor  of  the  religious  element 
in  man.  This  sense  is,  less  than  reason  or  morality, 
claimed  to  be  represented  in  the  brute  plane  of  animal 
economy.  We  might  turn  to  a  few  alleged  examples 
of  gratitude  occurring  in  the  brute,  and  referred  to  as 
evidence  of  the  religious  principle.  But  gratitude — a 
sentiment  of  obligation  that  characterizes  the  higher 
practices  of  religion  as  well  as  also  the  more  enlightened 
forms  of  social  life — is  religion  in  no  sense.  Besides 
these  examples  are  so  improbable  as  to  evidently  afford 
little  assurance  of  their  soundness  to  those  submitting 
them. 

However,  in  the  lowest  human  society  there  is  a  wor- 
ship, and  in  the  darkest  human  mind  a  glimmer  of  the 
deific,  traced  by  the  rude  symbols  of  ideal  divinities. 


THE    RELIGIOUS    ELEMENT    AND    STATE.         187 

Yet  in  the  highest  and  most  favored  brute  there  is  a 
characteristic  absence  of  all  these.  And  religious 
modes  of  life  being  in  man  universally  present  and  in  the 
brute  universally  absent,  can  only  signify  that  he  is  the 
representative  of  a  domain  of  life  lying  far  inward  from 
the  brute,  and  unto  which  the  element  of  the  mere  brute 
never  attains.  And  though  man's  entire  nature  is  not 
now,  and  for  good  reasons,  may  never  be  wholly  inside 
of  this  boundary,  those  elements  of  his  being  which 
properly  designate  him  as  man — his  reasoning  mind  and 
his  moral  and  religious  senses  with  all  their  attendant 
wide  range  of  sentiments, — with  all  their  present  wonder- 
ful achievements,  and  with  all  their  possibilities  in  an 
unlimited  future  in  pursuit  of  the  ever-increasing  at- 
tractions leading  the  way  toward  the  deific  perfections 
above, — these,  towering  above  and  obscuring  every  other 
part  of  his  nature,  are  wholly  of  the  innermost  state  of 
life, — the  inexpressibly  glorious  domain   of  man,   the 

ONLY  REALIZING  COMPANION  OF  HIS  CREATOR  ! 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Man  in  His   Essential    Self    Continues   Beyond  the 

Limits  of  Physical  Existence. — The 

Objections  Keviewed. 

^^npO  be  or  not  to  be ;  that  is  the  question"  which  un- 
X  derlies  all  others  in  contemplating  the  future.  All 
speculations  and  beliefs  in  respect  to  what  is  to  be  in  the 
state  of  life  beyond  the  grave  are  at  last  contingent 
upon  the  fact  itself  that  there  is  such  an  existence. 
The  evidence — the  universal  anticipation  of  it — on 
which  the  human  family  have  so  commonly  rested  their 
faith  in  the  continuance  of  life  after  death,  is  to  be  re- 
garded with  great  respect,  and  as  by  no  means  without 
foundation.  Aside  from  the  testimony  from  competent 
fellow  beings  in  respect  to  the  dead  seen  in  life  again, 
and  the  fact  that  the  religion  having  the  approval  of 
the  highest  order  of  mankind,  originated  amid  circum- 
stances of  this  character,  and  within  the  historic  period 
— aside  from  these,  the  fact  of  such  a  belief  being  com- 
mon to  mankind,  regardless  of  state  or  education,  and 
hence  being  organic  rather  than  of  an  accretive  char- 
acter, stands  as  proof  thereof  from  nature  itself. 

This,  until  recent  years,  has  been  regarded  as  the 
only  scientific  aspect  of  the  question.     All  nature  other- 

188 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  189 

wise  being  looked  upon  as  at  best  a  sealed  book  in  re- 
spect to  the  subject.  Theologians  of  the  best  culture, 
with  few  exceptions,  were  content  to  say  to  the  non- 
theological  minds,  "  We  agree  with  you  that  a  future 
life  is  not  determinable  from  a  stand-point  of  science. 
We  rest  our  faith  therein  on  the  authority  of  Revelation 
alone, — claiming,  however,  at  the  same  time  that  from 
nature  there  is  no  voice  against  it." 

The  mind,  by  its  indulgence  in  so  strong  a  faith  in 
the  future  life,  and  withal  one  so  hopeful  as  that  rep- 
resented by  much  of  Christendom,  has  in  many  ways 
been  largely  benefited.  But  there  have  all  along  been 
many  good  minds,  though  less  credulous,  who  have  not 
been  able  to  so  largely  take  advantage  of  a  faith  mainly 
resting  on  the  representations  of  history,  however  cred- 
ible as  such ;  who  sought  confirmation  by  evidence  from 
the  field  of  obvious  nature. 

This  evidence  has,  over  many  difficulties,  been  slowly 
advancing  to  view;  but  not  from  the  source  toward 
which  expectation  has  been  mainly  directed.  The  facts 
first  available  are  not  from  the  domain  of  nature  sur- 
rounding man,  but  from  that  higher  which  his  own  per- 
sonal existence  embodies. 

It  has  in  previous  chapters  been  seen  that  by  tracing 
the  elements  of  life*  in  the  several  kingdoms, — in  that 
of  man,  in  that  of  the  animal  below  him,  and  in  the 
vegetable  yet  lower  and  more  simple,  that  there  are 
universes  of  substances  lying  inward  of  this — the  one 
with  which  our  present  senses  connect  us — worlds  in- 
ward of  this  material  world  of  our  present  state.     And 


190  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

this  is  surely  the  most  natural,  if  indeed  not  the  only  prac- 
tical route  by  which  we  could  proceed,  hoping  to  dis- 
cover internal  universes — by  closely  observing  the  indi- 
vidual phenomena  of  plants  and  animals  that  bear 
traces  of  those  states. 

As  to  the  existence  of  those  states,  doubt  is  not  so 
extensive  on  the  part  of  the  learned  as  casual  observa- 
tion of  their  works  treating  on  other  subjects  than  that 
of  other  universes,  would  lead  one  to  believe.  Few 
treatises  from  men  of  science  are  found  having  special 
Reference  to  the  subject.  And  treating  of  physical 
sciences,  they  very  properly  use  terms  in  their  physical 
sense,  and  may  mislead  theological  minds  into  the  be- 
lief of  their  exclusive  mineralism.  Hence,  not  infre- 
quently, they  arise  and  explain.  Also,  very  evidently, 
many  being  so  much  preoccupied  with  their  specialties, 
have  little  room  or  liberty  for  the  work  of  tracing  out 
new  paths  of  science.  Be  this  all  as  it  may,  the  con- 
cessions to  the  claims  of  a  spiritual  state  coming  from 
this  source,  are  sufficient  in  numbers  and  character  to 
largely  commit  the  science  of  the  age  to  its  support.  In 
the  words  of  Prof.  Youmans,  already  cited,  "  The  tend- 
ency of  this  kind  of  inquiry  "  (modern  science)  "  is 
ever/rom  the  material,  toward  the  abstract,  the  ideal, 
the  spiritual. "  *  *  "  From  the  baldest  materiality 
we  rise  at  last  to  a  truth  of  the  spirit  world,  of  so  high 
an  order  that  it  has  been  said  *  to  connect  the  mind  of 
man  with  the  Spirit  of  God.'  "  This  would  legitimately 
follow  from  the  habit  of  philosophy  being  to  deal  more 
with  the  forces  than  with  the  materials  of  nature — their 


THE    OBJECTIONS    KEVIEWED.  191 

correlations  and  conversions,  through  the  unending  va- 
riations of  mode,  from  ordinary  mechanics  up  to  the 
volitions  of  mind. 

But  whether  such  a  state  is  for  the  occupancy  of  be- 
ings separated  from  this — beings  originated  in  that  state 
or  entered  there  from  this  or  some  other  subordinate 
state,  is  evidently  less  clear  to  them.  And  we  find 
them,  when  they  come  to  devote  themselves  specially  to 
the  question  of  the  soul's  future  personal  existence, 
hoping  and  believing  from  the  old  forms  of  evidence — 
historical  revelation  and  common  intuition — rather  than 
from  settled  principles  of  science. 

Prof.  Huxley's  reply  to  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison's  rather 
singular  position  in  respect  to  the  question  of  a  future 
life  (A  Modern  Symposium, — p.  82. —  Kose-Belford 
Pub.  Co.,  Toronto,)  probably  represents  the  thoughts  of 
the  majority  of  the  distinguished  writers  of  science  in 
the  present  day : 

"I  understand  and  I  respect  the  meaning  of  tJie 
word  'soul,'  as  used  by  Pagan  and  Christian  phi- 
losophers for  that  which  they  believe  to  be  the  im- 
perishable seat  of  human  personality,  bearing  through- 
out eternity  its  burden  of  woe,  or  its  capacity  for  adora- 
tion and  love.  *  *  And  if  I  am  not  satisfied  with 
the  evidence  that  is  offered  me  that  such  a  soul  and 
such  a  future  life  exists,  I  am  content  to  take  what  is  to 
be  had  and  to  make  the  best  of  the  brief  span  of  exist- 
ence that  is  within  my  reach,  without  reviling  those 
whose  faith  is  more  robust  and  whose  hopes  are  richer 
and  fuller. " 

The  sympathy  with,  and  evident  tendency  toward  a 


192  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

belief  in  a  future  life,  which  the  distinguished  biologist 
has  here  committed  himself  to,  is  seemingly  by  way  of 
assent  to  it  as  a  current  religious  sentiment.  And  he 
is  so  disposed  from  a  common  spontaneous  impulse  to 
believe,  rather  than  from  anything  which  his  exacting 
habits  of  thought  would  justify  as  evidence. 

But  with  greater  assurance  does  Prof.  Wm.  B.  Car- 
penter, the  most  widely  accredited  authority  in  physi- 
ology living,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  references  to 
him  as  a  skeptic,  close  his  great  work — ''  Principles  of 
Human  Physiology  " — with  these  profoundly  believing 
words :  "  But  the  Death  of  the  Body  is  but  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  Life  of  the  Soul ;  in  which  (as  the 
religious  physiologist  delights  to  believe)  all  that  is  pure 
and  noble  in  man's  nature  will  be  refined,  elevated,  and 
progressively  advanced  toward  perfection;  whilst  all 
that  is  carnal,  selfish,  and  degrading,  will  be  eliminated 
by  the  purifying  processes  to  which  each  individual 
must  be  subjected,  before  Sin  can  be  entirely  '  swallow- 
ed up  of  Victory '  "  (American  Edition  of  1862 — p. 
870).  Although  often  drawn  out  on  physical  and  phys- 
iological topics  connected  with  the  recent  developments 
of  science,  in  which  his  language,  used  comprehensively, 
but  with  special  purpose  only  to  physical  science,  may 
seem  to  antagonize  the  sentiment  of  this  quotation,  he 
has  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  given  expression  to  views 
that  are  necessarily  opposed  to  it.  But  he  has  rather 
said  a  good  deal  to  corroborate  it — enough  to  assure  us 
that  though  these  words  are  not  words  of  argument  de- 
duced from  the  established  principles  of  his  favorite 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  193 

science,  they  are  surely  as  liberally  suggested  from  that 
source  as  from  the  more  commonly  accepted  evidences 
of  revelation  and  intuition. 

At  the  present,  scientific  research  has  not  fairly 
reached  the  ground  where  the  question  of  man's  sur- 
vival of  physical  dissolution  comes  unavoidedly  into  view. 
And  only  here  and  there  do  we  see  an  accredited  leader 
snatching  a  special  opportunity  to  step  in  advance  to 
apply  the  rules  of  scientific  evidence  to  the  problem  of 
such  an  existence.  The  preliminary  work  is  not  yet 
sufficiently  advanced.  The  problems  in  respect  to  the 
more  obvious  forms  and  modes  of  life  are  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently well  solved — are  not  yet  so  undebatably  clear  in 
all  respects  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  proceed  in  force 
to  the  next,  the  final  and  all-overshadowing  question. 
But  as  the  researches  in  biology  come  to  uncover  more 
completely  the  motives  that  are  incidental  to  the  forms 
of  Hfe,  and  the  destinies  that  are  deducible  from  the  nat- 
ure and  arrangement  of  their  functions,  their  orbits 
will  be  called  for  and  must  be  computed,  which  will  ren- 
der the  question  of  an  after  death  life  impossible  to  be 
avoided,  leaving  the  mineralistic  scholar,  who  is  indis- 
posed to  such  an  issue  being  made  in  science,  to  decide 
whether  he  will  part  company  with  his  prejudices  or 
with  the  issues  his  times  will  inexorably  bring  up  for  so- 
lution. 

EELATION    OF   MIND    AND    BODY.— CONSCIOUSNESS. 

The  part  that  physical  science  has  to  act  in  settling 
the  question  of  a  future  life,  is  to  determine  the  relation 

13 


194  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

of  mind  and  body ;  from  whicli  it  is  to  be  ascertained 
that  the  mind  as  well  as  the  soul  with  which  it  is  iden- 
tified, is  or  is  not,  in  its  essential  wholeness,  separable 
therefrom.  Then,  when  such  a  separation  is  found 
possible,  that,  at  the  death  of  the  body,  it  is  actual  as 
well — that  the  essential  being  is  continued,  and  that  the 
dead  are  not  dead — that  death  extends  to  no  more 
than  the  body,  and  that  the  sorrow  of  this  is  all  that 
the  facts  of  death  merely  will  justify,  and,  when  fully 
Been,  will  call  forth.  To  a  carefully  thinking  being, 
however  little  he  might  realize  thereof,  this  evidence  of 
a  future  state  would  be  as  uncontrovertible  as  would  be 
a  residence  in  the  land  of  spirits  itself.  The  conditions 
incident  to  that  state  might  still  be  matters  of  specula- 
tion and  doubt,  but  the  existence  itself  would  be  a  fact 
— a  fact  in  science.  Though  it  might  not  then  be  fully 
and  forcibly  impressed  on  consciousness. 

And  now  in  proceeding  to  consider  the  evidences,  it 
is  manifestly  proper  to  first  review  the  doubts  and  nega- 
tives on  the  opposite  side.  For  though  they  are  not 
numerous  nor  very  often  repeated,  they  have  yet  at 
times  been  so  forcibly  stated  as  to  have  in  many  quite 
strong  and  clear  minds  well-nigh  extinguished  belief. 
Commonly  the  first  negative  met  is  a  claim  that,  so  far, 
attempts  at  scientific  proof  that  individual  human  life 
may  or  does  exist  outside  of  a  physical  body,  have 
failed,  while  the  improbabilities  have  also  largely  in- 
creased. While  this  has  much  truth  in  it,  it  yet  is  far 
from  being  altogether  true.  Then  a  more  common,  and, 
perhaps,  a  more  sober  trouble  is  in  respect  to  conscious- 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  195 

ness.  The  expression  usually  is,  How  shall  we  know  of 
a  matter  of  which  we  are  so  completely  unconscious  ? 
How  shall  we  be  made  sensible  that  life  exists  on  the 
other  side  of  a  state  of  unconsciousness ^  and  that  it  is 
not  itself  ended  with  the  dissolution  of  the  organization 
with  which  consciousness  inheres  or  is  manifested  ?  Or 
how  shall  we  have  knowledge  of  a  state  of  conscious- 
ness unconnected  with  our  present  mode  of  being  to 
which  our  senses  are  limited?  This  form  of  doubt,  out 
of  which  these  questions  arise,  is  deserving  of  much  re- 
spect, as  it  may  readily  result  from  the  prevalent 
method  of  dogmatizing  in  science,  which  so  uniformly 
inclines  to  exclude  claims  to  facts  of  a  psychological 
character. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  consciousness  ?  What  is  it 
to  be  conscious  ?  It  denotes  but  the  detention  of  the 
senses,  psychical  or  mental,  in  their  active  relation  with 
their  objective  states,  while  ministering  to  the  individual 
life  from  the  side  of  nature  or  of  being  to  which  they 
are  adapted.  Hence  it  can  only  be  maintained  in  re- 
spect to  the  state  on  which  the  senses  are  employed, 
whatever  side  of  being  that  may  be.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, our  system  of  senses  and  faculties  should  be  em- 
bodied in  an  organism  related  with  another  order  of  ex- 
istence, or  objective  world,  and  be  discontinued  with 
the  one  relating  us  with  this,  we  should  be  conscious  of 
that  state  and  unconscious  of  this.  By  this  view,  this 
negative  would  lose  much  of  its  force ;  as  evidently,  a 
want  of  consciousness  of  another  conscious  state  would 
not  constitute  the  least  measure  of  proof  against  its  ex- 


196  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

istence.  And  besides,  it  would  render  the  mind  more 
open  to  perceive  what  proofs  of  such  a  state  might  be 
forthcoming,  which  is  of  great  importance  in  this  investi- 
gation. 

BISHOP   BUTLER   ASSAILED. 

In  his  Belfast  address  (Advancement  of  Science), 
this  form  of  negative  is  introduced  by  Prof.  Tyndall,  in 
a  problematic  manner,  and  by  way  of  testing  the 
strength  of  Bishop  Butler's  position  in  defense  of  the 
doctrine  of  future  life  as  set  forth  in  "  The  Analogy  of 
Keligion. "  The  position  is  honored  with  liberal  conces- 
sions of  its  strength ;  yet  not  with  being  absolutely  in- 
vulnerable. Fatal  flaws  are  believed  to  be  discovered 
in  the  argument.  The  bishop's  well-known  position  is 
that  the  proper  self  and  the  body  bear  the  same  relation 
to  each  other  that  do  the  mechanic  and  his  set  of  tools, 
which  he  renders  very  firm  by  numerous  forcible  illus- 
trations. Against  this  the  professor  brings  his  "  disci- 
ple of  Lucretius,"  armed  with  the  philosophy  (the 
atomic  theory)  of  his  distinguished  master, — that  the 
soul  and  body  are  one  and  the  same,  and  live  and  per- 
ish as  one. 

The  "  disciple  "  proceeds  to  intimate  that  the  bish- 
op's statement  that  the  removal  of  parts  of  the  body, 
as  limbs,  etc.,  does  not  remove  anything  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  complete  self,  is  without  much  force ; 
and  suggests  the  experiment  be  continued  by  removing 
the  brain,  or  by  temporarily  paralyzing  it;  saying: 
"  You  begin  at  one  end  of  the  body,  and  show  that  its 


THE    OBJECTIONS   REVIEWED.  197 

parts  may  be  removed  without  prejudice  to  the  perceiv- 
ing power.  What  if  you  begin-  at  the  other  end,  and 
remove,  instead  of  the  leg,  the  brain  ?  *  *  Or,  in- 
stead of  going  so  far  as  to  remove  the  brain  itself,  let  a 
certain  portion  of  its  bony  covering  be  removed,  and 
let  a  rhythmic  series  of  pressures  and  relaxations  of 
pressures  be  applied  to  the  soft  substance.  At  every 
pressure  '  the  faculties  of  perception  and  of  action' 
vanish;  at  every  relaxation  of  pressure  they  are  re- 
stored. Where,  during  the  intervals  of  pressure,  is  the 
perceiving  power  ?  I  once  had  the  discharge  of  a  Ley- 
den  battery  pass  unexpectedly  through  me ;  I  felt  noth- 
ing, but  was  simply  blotted  out  of  conscious  existence 
for  a  sensible  interval.  Where  was  my  true  self  during 
that  interval?"  (p.  45). 

Somewhat  anticipating  the  reply,  he  continues,  "You 
may  say  that  I  beg  the  question,  when  I  assume  the 
man  to  have  been  unconscious,  that  he  was  really  con- 
scious all  the  time,  and  has  simply  forgotten  what  had 
occurred  to  him. "  Truly,  so  might  it  naturally  be,  in 
harmony  with  the  "  instrument "  theory,  and  with  no 
offense  to  any  sense  of  fitness.  And  certainly  in  these 
illustrations  that  theory  has  suffered  no  damage  nor  in- 
convenience. "  Where  was  my  true  self  during  that 
interval?" — so  enforced  by  the  passage  of  the  electric 
discharge  from  the  battery.  Well,  so  far  as  the  theory 
is  concerned,  it  is  a  matter  of  entire  indifference  as  to 
where  the  true  self  was  at  the  time.  That  only  pro- 
vides that  the  true  self  and  the  organism  of  nerve  wires 
that  continued  the  discharge   through  the  individual 


198  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

body,  were  not  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  self  might 
have  been  separate  from  the  prostrate  instrument ;  in- 
sularly connected  therewith ;  or  even  in  a  measure  par- 
ticipant in  its  fate.  It  is  not  incumbent  on  the  theory 
to  show  where  or  in  what  condition  the  self  was  during 
the  tragical  instant.  When  the  refractory  lightning 
leaps  from  the  clouds  on  to  the  wires  and  thereby  into 
the  operator's  room,  it  may  also  penetrate  him;  but 
that  would  not  necessarily  follow.  Neither  is  it  proba- 
ble that  his  mind  would  be  so  much  more  active  than 
what  is  common  of  man,  that  it  could  take  note  of  what 
transpired  in  the  interval — the  flash. 

Substantially  the  same  answer  will  apply  to  the 
removed  or  disabled  brain, — it  is  simply  disabled — dis- 
qualified for  use,  in  both  cases.  In  the  one  instance, 
it  is  not  only  sundered,  but  the  vital  circulation  on 
which  its  supply  is  dependent  is  also  sundered,  and  it 
could  no  longer  be  the  instrument  of  consciousness.  In 
the  other,  essentially  the  same  explanation  will  apply. 
The  instrument  is  broken  and  unable  to  represent  its 
agent,  and  hence  consciousness  has  disappeared.  But 
that  it  has  ceased  with  its  manifestation,  requires  proof 
of  a  class  this  school  of  Lucretius  would  be  the  last  to 
admit — evidence  from  the  state  beyond  the  unconscious 
hiatus  itself,  testifying  from  knowledge  that  the  con- 
sciousness has  not  survived. 

Without  varying  the  principle,  or  scarcely  the  form, 
our  "  disciple  "  submits  a  further  illustration  in  this 
same  connection :  "  A  telegraph  operator  has  his  instru- 
ments,  by  which   he   converses   with   the  world;  our 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  199 

bodies  possess  a  nervous  system,  which  plays  a  similar 
part  between  the  perceiving  powers  and  external  things. 
Cut  the  wires  of  the  operator,  break  his  battery,  de- 
magnetize his  needle ;  by  this  means  you  certainly  sever 
his  connection  with  the  world ;  but  inasmuch  as  these 
are  real  instruments  their  destruction  does  not  touch 
the  man  who  uses  them.  The  operator  survives,  and  he 
knows  that  he  survives.  What  is  it,  I  would  ask,  in  the 
human  system  that  answers  to  this  conscious  survival 
of  the  operator  when  the  battery  of  the  brain  is  so  dis- 
turbed as  to  produce  insensibility,  or  when  it  is  de- 
stroyed altogether  ?  "  (p.  46).  In  connection  with  the 
answers  already  returned,  it  need  here  only  be  replied 
that  though  the  operator  himself  knows  of  his  survival, 
the  fact  is  not  within  the  reach  of  the  consciousness  of 
the  outside  world  till  the  wires  and  battery  and  deliver- 
ing apparatuses  are  all  up  again.  During  the  interval 
his  relation  with  the  outside  world  would  be  the  same 
as  would  be  that  of  the  conscious  entity  in  question, 
whose  presence  is  rendered  vacuous  to  external  realiza- 
tion, by  the  disabled  vital  mechanism — a  severed  or 
paralyzed  brain.  And,  but  for  the  force  of  analogy  and 
inductive  evidence,  the  operator  so  separated  from  the 
outside  world,  would,  also,  be  reasonably  supposed  not 
to  exist.  His  existence  it  would  be  impossible  to  affirm. 
Operators,  however,  have  been,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, known  to  survive;-  and  the  ready  inference 
would  be  that  this  one,  too,  has  not  ceased  to  exist; 
though  the  means  of  sensuous  knowledge  have  for  the 
time  disappeared.     But  this  is  all  the  basis  for  behef  in 


200  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

the  existence  of  the  unseen  and  unknown  one  m  this 
case,  save  what  induction  from  a  knowledge  of  the  nat- 
ure of  the  wire,  the  battery  and  the  man,  might  certify. 
For  the  operator,  his  fallen  means  of  communication  is 
re-erected  and  his  survival  is  made  apparent.  That 
consciousness  that  is  finally  deprived  of  the  essential 
instrument  of  the  brain,  is  not  so  well  favored.  No 
master  workman  is  able,  at  that  final  time,  to  revive  it, 
to  re- erect  the  fallen  fiber.  And  the  occupant  must  be 
content  with  another  state  of  being  and  to  know  of 
those  in  this  world  what  he  may  have  means  to,  without 
the  satisfaction  that  a  definite  knowledge  of  himself  re- 
ciprocally exists  with  them.  Confirmation  of  their  hope 
of  his  existence,  is  to  be  had  mainly,  if  not  only,  by 
the  inductive  method ;  which,  in  the  good  fortune  of  our 
present  day,  is,  with  many,  scarce  less  to  be  relied  upon 
than  would  be  a  verdict  from  the  fickle  senses  them- 
selves. 

"Another  consideration  "  he  urges  in  his  negative,  as 
pressing  upon  him  "  with  some  force. "  It  is  the  well- 
known  fact  that  "  the  brain  may  change  from  health  to 
disease,  and  through  such  a  change  the  most  exemplary 
man  may  be  converted  into  a  debauchee  or  a  murderer. " 
And  to  illustrate,  he  cites  the  melancholy  case  of  Lu- 
cretius himself,  who  was  so  terrified  by  promptings  to 
lewdness,  that,  out  of  fear  of  yielding  to  the  base  im- 
pulses, he  slew  himself.  In  respect  to  this  he  asks, 
"  How  could  the  hand  of  Lucretius  have  been  thus 
turned  against  himself,  if  the  real  Lucretius  remained 
as  before  ?     Can  the  brain  or  can  it  not  act  in  this  dis- 


THE    OBJECTIONS    KEVIE^  ED.  201 

tempered  way  without  the  intervention  of  the  immortal 
reason  ?  If  it  can,  then  it  is  a  prime  mover  which  re- 
quires only  healthy  regulation  to  render  it  reasonably 
self-acting,  and  there  is  no  apparent  need  of  your  im- 
mortal reason  at  all.  If  it  cannot,  then  the  immortal 
reason,  by  its  mischievous  activity  in  operating  upon  a 
broken  instrument,  must  have  the  credit  of  committing 
every  imaginable  extravagance  and  crime  "  (p.  46,  47). 
In  this,  and  in  what  immediately  follows,  our  "  disciple" 
is  disposed  to  develop  the  moral  aspects  of  the  case. 
Who  is  the  party  properly  chargeable  with  the  moral 
delinquencies  of  life,  but  immortal  reason  itself,  if  the 
brain  be  but  an  instrument  in  its  employment  ?  is  the 
substance  of  his  objection;  averring  in  substance, 
that  it  would  harmonize  more  with  enlightened  sensi- 
bilities to  think  of  the  brain  as  being  alone  concerned 
in  the  lamentable  result,  rather  than  the  cherished  im- 
mortal reason  should  be  obliged  to  appear  capable  of 
immoral  tendencies. 

How  far,  to  be  sure,  pure  reason  would  be  chargea- 
ble with  the  results  of  using  instruments  that  are  so 
much  out  of  order  as  to  be  dangerous,  would  depend 
upon  the  nature  of  the  case.  There  are  combinations  of 
machine  and  operator,  where  the  machine  may  over- 
master the  operator  and  inflict  great  damage.  In  such 
a  case  the  operator  is  not  chargeable  with  the  matter  ; 
while  also  it  is  of  little  consequence  that  we  charge  it 
upon  the  machine.  Whether  the  brain  is  the  parent  or 
the  instrument  of  the  element  of  reason,  can  make  no 


202  CONSOLATIONS    OF      SCIENCE. 

difference  as  to  the  necessity  of  its  best  possible  con- 
dition. 

But  suppose  the  mental  economy  to  be  a  congress  of 
functions,  each,  in  some  measure,  acting  in  its  own 
sphere,  as  may  readily  be  conceded ;  then  suppose  the 
operator  (a  single  function)  has  his  wire  fall  upon 
another's  or  another's  upon  his,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
mingle  or  divert  the  currents,  and  at  a  point  beyond 
his  means  of  knowledge ;  will  his  conscious  reason  en- 
able him  to  obviate  mistakes  ?  And  is  he,  under  these 
circumstances,  to  be  arraigned  for  misdemeanor,  or 
evil  intent  ? 

One  would  think  that  the  professor,  of  world-wide 
fame,  and  abundantly  deserving  to  be  classed  among 
the  very  first  of  this  age,  rather  misanticipates  the 
bishop  in  imagining  him  "  thoughtful  after  hearing  this 
argument  "  of  the  "  disciple  "  of  the  great  poet  philoso- 
pher. The  bishop  has  not  written  in  this  direction 
without  some  mistakes — some  important  omissions; 
but  in  the  main  he  has  taken  correct  grounds,  and 
built  his  superstructure  so  well  as  that  it  has  stood  the 
assaults  of  a  century  and  a  quarter,  showing  little  dam- 
age, and  promising  to  stand  in  the  future  as  strongly  as 
in  the  past. 

But  our  "  disciple  "  might  have  submitted,  perhaps, 
a  more  difficult  objection  for  the  bishop's  consideration ; 
more  difficult,  because  in  the  main  it  is  new  and  in- 
volves new  principles.  He  might  have  added,  "  But  the 
survivor  of  the  broken  medium  of  communication  was 
enabled  to  relate  at  least  somewhat  of  the  state  of  his 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  203 

consciousness  during  the  interval  of  his  isolation; 
whereas,  usually,  parties  on  regaining  consciousness 
are  unable  to  do  so.  And  assuming  that  there  is  but 
the  same  seat  of  consciousness  in  the  individual  life  on 
which  all  experiences  register  themselves,  why,  during 
intervals  of  external  suspense,  are  there  not  vacuums 
as  to  conscious  life,  in  all  instances  where  nothing  con- 
cerning the  interim  may  be  evoked  from  the  memory?" 

We  shall  be  helped  to  the  an3wer  of  this  by  noting 
the  fact  that  sometimes,  however,  they  do  recall.  And 
that  what  is  regarded  as  inability,  is  but  circumstantial 
inability;  only  depending  on  the  arrival  of  the  proper 
condition  when  external  activities  do  not  monopolize 
the  apprehending  powers,  and  when  the  kindred  fact  by 
its  association,  will  awaken  the  memory  in  respect  to  it. 
We  may  unconsciously  drift  over  many  fine  pictures, 
easily  enough  seen  were  the  right  circumstances  call- 
ing attention.  Our  memories  during  consciousness  are 
largely  due  to  the  interminable  series  of  awakening  in- 
cidents. 

But  to  be  troubled  with  doubt  concerning  a  future 
life,  arising  from  a  disposition  to  discredit  existence 
where  it  is  not  within  the  sphere  of  sensuous  observa- 
tion, would  put  one  on  the  defensive  in  respect  to  a 
theory  of  self's  continued  existence  in  the  present  state 
of  being, — that  the  self  of  yesterday  evening  is  yet,  and 
is  the  self  of  this  morning, — that  it  could  possibly  have 
passed  through  the  intervening  unconsciousness  of  the 
night's  repose. 


204  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

THE    MAIN    NEGATIVE. 

The  last  negative,  now  to  be  considered  and  already 
indirectly  reviewed  in  the  foregoing  criticisms,  and  the  one 
the  most  confidently  advanced  among  unbelieving  men 
of  science,  is  that  mind  and  all  animate  conditions  result 
from  organization,  and  are  finally  and  always  depend- 
ent on  it ;  and  hence,  also,  terminate  with  it.  I  say, 
"the  one  most  confidently  advanced";  for  very  few,  so 
far  as  I  am  able  to  'judge  of  their  observations,  con- 
sider the  claim  with  entire  confidence.  It,  also,  is  more 
problematically  than  assuredly  stated.  Prof.  Tyndall, 
in  this  same  Belfast  address,  referring  to  the  relation  of 
the  vital  organism  with  sensation  and  thought,  says, 
"  We  can  trace  the  development  of  a  nervous  system 
and  correlate  with  it  the  parallel  phenomena  of  sensa- 
tion and  thought.  We  see  with  undoubting  certainty 
that  they  go  hand  in  hand.  But  we  try  to  soar  in  a 
vacuum  the  moment  we  seek  to  comprehend  the  connec- 
tion between  them  "  (Advancement  of  Science,  p.  80). 
This  is  the  difficulty  commonly  seen  and  confessed. 
The  coincidence  is  striking  enough  to  suggest,  but  not  to 
prove  that  the  mind  and  soul  are  of  a  physical  origin 
alone.  A  vacuum,  as  to  physical  demonstration,  must 
be  soared  through  to  attain  the  necessary  elements  of  its 
proof.  In  the  lower  forms,  the  connection  and  co-ordina- 
tion of  mind  and  life  with  the  organism  may  not 
be  doubted ;  but  that  fact  alone  settles  nothing  more 
than  that  they  are  in  the  arrangement  so  well  adapted  as 
that  they  may  act  in  exact  accordance,  or  are  so  com- 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  205 

bined  as  to  influence  each  other  to  action,  that  the  state 
and  act  of  one  would,  uniformly,  correspond  with  the  state 
and  act  of  the  other.  But  to  determine  the  causative 
side — ^to  determine  with  which  of  the  related  parts  to 
locate  the  origin  of  the  force  impinged,  recurrence  must 
be  had  to  other  sources  of  knowledge.  One  may,  stand- 
ing apart  from  it,  consider  a  locomotive  moving,  and 
from  that  point  of  view  alone,  be  unable  to  decide 
whether  the  moving  cause  is  located  in  the  cylinder  or 
in  the  wheel,  or  somewhere  back  of  both ;  whether  the 
advancing  and  receding  of  the  piston  revolves  the  wheel 
or  the  revolving  wheel  inserts  and  retracts  the  piston. 
The  actions  of  the  piston  and  the  wheel  are  exactly 
co-ordinate. 

Much  like  this  position  is  that  of  the  scientist  viewing 
from  physical  science  alone,  the  activities  of  human 
economy.  Is  it  the  mental  or  the  psychical  state  de- 
livering the  actuating  force  on  the  vital  organism,  or  is 
it  the  reverse,  is  the  troublesome  question.  All  that  we 
here  see  is  embodiment  and  action,  and  that  it  is,  at 
times,  rational.  As  to  how  this  action  transpires  in 
ourselves,  we  only  are  conscious  of  having  will,  thought, 
and  experience,  and  that  in  response  to  will,  much  of 
this  action  takes  place.  But  the  manner  of  these  in  us, 
and  their  source,  may  not  be  known  by  physical  analysis 
alone.  Also,  the  question  as  to  the  location  of  the 
moving  cause  in  the  locomotive  would  be  very  liable  to 
a  mistaken  answer,  if  the  engine  were  of  invisible  sub- 
stance. The  appearance  would  unavoidably  deceive. 
Finding  the  wheel  itself  only  capable  of  action  in  re- 


206  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

sponse  to  force  applied  to  it,  would  measurably  rectify 
the  mistake ;  rendering  it  necessary  to  locate  the  cause 
outside  of  it,  and  derived  through  one  of  its  points  of 
connection — ^the  rail  below  or  the  piston  rod  or  walking 
bar.  But  in  all  these,  though  suitably  combined,  there 
is  present  no  cause  for  such  movement.  And  if  they 
are  rightly  understood,  it  must  be  looked  for  elsewhere. 
But  heat  and  water  are  necessarily  in  attendance  upon 
this  machine ;  and,  in  combination,  are  generating  an 
adequate  force.  And  although  no  engine — no  point  or 
means  of  communication  of  this  power  is  visible,  the 
justifiable  conclusion  would  be  that  in  this  force,  how- 
ever unknown  is  the  medium  or  mode  of  application,  is 
the  cause  of  the  manifest  movement. 

Similar  to  these  are  the  facts  in  relation  to  body  and 
mind,  or  soul,  as  so  far  developed.  The  body  is  an  or- 
ganization of  substances  identical  with  the  common 
elements  of  nature.  It  is  of  the  earth,  earthy.  But 
it  is  of  the  most  minute  perfection  in  respect  to  all  the 
details  necessary  to  the  multiform  uses  for  self-preser- 
vation— present  and  future — and  is  qualified  to  serve  at 
least  many  of  the  requirements  of  voluntary  intellectual 
processes ;  is  accordingly  characterized  by  feeling  and 
mind.  Mind  and  feeling,  like  heat  and  water,  are  mani- 
fest to  mental  observation  and  to  self-consciousness. 
So,  too,  the  body.  But  from  which  of  these  the  causa- 
tive power  proceeds,  and  what  are  the  element  and 
mode  of  connection  or  of  communicating  the  power,  are 
the  matters  in  obscurity  to  all  observation  from  purely 
physical  data.     And  judgment  as  to  from  which  state 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  207 

this  motion  is  communicated,  must  depend  on  a  knowl- 
edge of  their  separate  properties  and  possibilities. 

But  we  must  here  first  attend  to  a  prior  considera- 
tion, before  proceeding  to  weigh  the  probabilities  in  re- 
spect to  which  of  the  allied  parts  is  the  true  agent  of 
the  living,  rational  phenomena  of  human  existence. 
Having  done  so  we  shall  resume  work  on  this  line. 

MIND  AND  SOUL  AND  ORGANIZATION. 

Speaking  of  mind  and  soul  as  results  of  physical  or- 
ganization, implies  that  by  them  is  meant  only  modes 
of  physical  motion — that  these  are  but  physical  evolu- 
tions, or  physical  gymnastics,  rendered  possible  by  req- 
uisite adjustment  of  its  atoms.  However,  the  terms 
mind  and  soul  can  scarcely  be  used  without  conveying 
the  impression  of  their  separateness  in  identity,  and 
that  they  are  substantial  realities.  Eesults  of  organi- 
zation can  only  be  considerated  as  mechanical  effects — 
movements  corresponding  with  modes  of  combination ; 
not  the  evolution  of  properties  of  the  substances  of 
these  parts,  previously  concealed  in  latency,  as  in  chem- 
ical unity.  And  here  we  must  be  on  our  guard  yet 
again.  The  organism  may  be  regarded  as  being  not 
only  an  attainment  of  more  subtile  and  favorable 
unions  of  atoms  than  occur  in  the  ordinary  mixtures 
and  combinations  elsewhere  in  nature,  but  as  embody- 
ing in  these  living  results,  atoms  of  specially  required 
properties,  which  are  wanting  in  forms  denoting  the  ab- 
eence  of  the  vital  principle.  Thus  did  the  Greeks 
speak  of  divine  atoms,  love  atoms,  hate  atoms,  etc., 


208  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

which  went  into  combination  with  the  atoms  of  common 
matter,  in  the  formation  of  these  living  organisms, 
"^ut,  by  such  considerations,  separateness  of  mind  and 
^oul  from  the  physical  organism,  was  not  to  be  regarded 
&,s  impossilple  at  all,  nor  improbable,  where  other  proba- 
bilities pointed  to  it.  This,  indeed,  might  satisfy  now, 
as  it  did  then,  a  philosophy  of  biology  that  provided 
for  a  future  life. 

This,  however,  does  not  represent  the  mineralistic 
school  of  to-day.  With  them  no  such  atoms  are  re- 
quired in  explanation  of  living  phenomena.  With  them 
a  "  two-faced  unity  "  of  substance  supplies  all  data  re- 
quired in  explaining  all  that  pertains  to  life  and  in- 
tellect; and  seems  preferable  as  thereby  avoiding 
troublesome  complications  arising  from  the  necessity  of 
providing  a  means  of  union  in  the  admission  of  distinct 
orders  of  substance.  The  mineralism  of  to-day  resolves 
the  problem  of  life  and  mind  into  simply  one  of  mechan- 
ism— spontaneous  mechanism.  The  concession,  however, 
is  that,  of  course,  it  is  not  at  all  easy  even  with  this 
method.  There  are  vacuums  to  soar  in,  and  ''paradoxes'* 
to  elucidate,  while,  at  the  same  time,  suffering  the  in- 
convenience of  the  ever  two-fold  appearance  of  this 
"  double-faced  unity. "  It  is  ever  "  mind  and  matter. " 
The  idea  cannot  all  be  contained  in  the  word  "  matter. " 
Nor  is  the  word  "  mind  "  a  whit  more  accommodating. 
Nor  is  it  wholly  the  fault  of  our  concededly  poor  human 
language.  It  is  quite  as  much  because  two  distinct 
states  are  unavoidably  apparent,  and  that  in  consequence 
the  logical  mind  refuses  them  oneness  of  sense  and  ad- 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  209 

mission  to  be  expressed  by  the  same  term,  or  by  terms 
of  the  same  meaning. 

MATTER,     ESSENCE    OF     LIFE. 

In  still  pursuing  the  theories  in  respect  to  life  and 
mentality  incipiently  or  latently  consisting  of  a  proper 
union  of  atomic  forms  or  properties  of  atomic  matter, 
a  sort  of  compromise  position  we  find  suggested  by 
Prof.  Tyndall,  in  the  address  already  quoted  from  at  the 
point  where  he  approaches  that  peroration  that  brought 
to  his  consideration  a  world  of  unmerited  abuse,  from 
ecclesiastics  and  also  the  religious  laity,  in  which  he 
professed  to  "  discern  in  that  matter  *  *  *  ^jje 
promise  and  potency  of  every  form  and  quality  of  life'* 
(p.  77).  As  he  is  here,  as  usual,  remarkably  clear,  I 
take  pleasure  in  representing  him  in  his  own  words : 
"  Two  courses,  and  two  only,  are  possible "  (in  account- 
ing for  the  origin  of  life  in  relation  to  matter).  "  Either 
let  us  open  our  doors  freely  to  the  conception  of  creative 
acts,  or,  abandoning  them,  let  us  radically  change  our 
notions  of  matter.  If  we  look  at  matter  as  pictured 
by  Democritus,  and  as  defined  for  generations  in  our 
scientific  text-books,  the  absolute  impossibility  of  any 
form  of  life  coming  out  of  it,  would  be  sufficient  to 
render  any  other  hypothesis  preferable ;  but  the  defini- 
tions of  matter  given  in  our  text-books  were  intended  to 
cover  its  purely  physical  and  mechanical  properties* 
And  taught  as  we  have  been,  to  regard  these  definitions 
as  complete,  we  naturally  and  rightly  reject  the  mon- 
strous notion  that  out  of  sitch  matter  any  form  of  life 
could  possibly  arise.     But  are  the  definitions  complete  ? 

14 


210  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Everything  depends  on  the  answer  to  be  given  to  this 
question.  *  *  Is  there  not  a  temptation  to  close  to 
some  extent  with  Lucretius,  when  he  affirms  that, 
*  Nature  is  seen  to  do  all  things  spontaneously  of  her- 
self without  the  meddling  of  the  gods  ?  '  or  with  Bruno, 
when  he  declares  that  nature  is  not  *  that  mere  empty 
capacity  which  philosophers  have  pictured  her  to  be,  but 
the  universal  mother  who  brings  forth  all  things  as  the 
fruit  of  her  own  womb"  (pp.  76,  77).  This  in  effect  is 
submitting,  not  very  confidently  however,  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  blankness  of  matter  in  respect  to  the  vital 
principle,  may  be  deceptive,  owing  to  the  imperfect 
common  view ;  and  that  in  a  form  not  yet  apparent  to 
science  it  really  is  but  a  state  of  life,  which  state,  by 
Buitable  atomic  combination  and  environment,  becomes 
active — enlarges  itself,  till  it  appears  in  the  animal  and 
finally  mental  forms  known  to  us. 

From  this  supposition,  which  perhaps  represents  the 
extent  of  his  belief  in  respect  to  the  primal  state  or 
essence  of  life,  the  professor  does  not  see  himself  as 
being  fairly  a  materialist  or  mineralist ;  as  it  abrogates 
the  common  mineralistic  views  of  matter.  It  would 
indeed  leave  him  the  representative  of  an  absolutely 
pure  psychism.  His  is  not  matter  and  soul  joined  to- 
gether ;  nor  a  two-faced  unity ;  but  soul  and  nothing 
else.  And  that  which  is  necessarily  spoken  of  as 
matter,  by  himself  as  well  as  by  others,  is,  strictly 
speaking,  essence  of  life  ;  but  in  a  state  so  remote  from 
that  at  which  it  is  recognized  life,  as  that  no  means  of 
measuring  the   disparity   from   one   to  the  other  are 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  211 

known  to  exist, — no  parallex  of  sufficient  extent  may  be 
found  from  which  lines  erected  across  the  chasm  would 
describe  an  angle  of  sufficient  distinctness  for  measure- 
ment. Seeking  to  comprehend  the  distance  of  their  re- 
lation, would  be  trying  "  to  soar  in  a  vacuum." 

Whatever  may  be  his  belief  in  respect  to  a  future 
life  (of  which  I  cannot  confidently  speak),  this  theory, 
at  first  view,  would  seem  to  provide  a  quite  satisfactory 
explanation  for  the  phenomenon  of  life;  and  thence 
possibly  also  would  be  reconcilable  with  a  theory  of 
a  future  life.  However,  only  to  the  extent  to  which  this 
vital  form  of  matter  may  be  made  to  conform  to  the 
view  of  its  being  a  substance  quite  separate  and  inde- 
pendent from  that  of  the  visible  organism, — erecting, 
inhabiting,  and  using  the  organism  as  a  convenience  or 
an  instrument,  which,  without  detriment  to  itself,  it 
might  discontinue, — would  it  be  possible  to  derive  from 
it  any  form  of  theory  of  future  life. 

The  prominent  objection  to  this  speculation  of  the 
professor  is  that  the  inference  on  which  he  founds  it  is 
not  justifiable.  Observing  that  in  following  the  order 
of  vital  evolution  backward,  from  the  highest  forms 
down,  one  finally  sees  the  vital  principle  disappear  in  a 
mere  viscid  state  of  matter,  and  that  there  are  parallel 
facts  in  the  affections  of  matter, — for  example,  the  suc- 
cessive decrease  of  polar  force  at  each  subdivision  of 
the  mass,  while  yet  some  measure  of  it  remains,  how- 
ever enfeebled,  with  the  last  possible  or  imaginable  di- 
vision,— he  infers  that  a  sympathy  and  ultimate  oneness 
not  only  of  these  phenomena,  but  of  their  essences,  may 


212  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

existj^that  life  and  physical  attraction  may  be  but 
widely  sundered  states  of  the  same  substance — "  the 
universal  Mother." 

But  here  the  necessary  sequence  is  plainly  lacking. 
From  these  facts  nothing  follows  to  fairly  establish  even 
a  probability  of  oneness ;  and  the  inference  is  without 
a  real  justification.  All  the  sameness  here  brought  to 
view  is  in  respect  to  quantity — the  idea  of  more  and 
less  as  applicable  to  each.  And  we  might  gratuitously 
add  that,  without  having  reference  to  any  other  order  or 
side  of  nature,  the  individuals  on  the  same  side  are 
mutually  attracted.  But  the  fact  that  phenomena  are 
parallel,  although  suggestive,  avails  nothing  as  evidence 
that  they  are  in  any  way  identical  or  even  remotely  re- 
lated. Besides,  the  simple  fact  of  quantity  does  not 
determine  the  quality,  state  or  substance — that  it  is 
black  or  white,  substance  or  sentiment.  We  find  there- 
fore by  the  best  presentation  of  the  professor's  ingenious 
speculation  no  valid  reason  for  its  acceptance. 

THE    DOUBLE-FACED    UNITY. 

But  more  common,  though  less  plausible,  is  the  theory 
of  "  a  double-faced  unity  "  advanced  by  Prof.  Bain,  of 
Scotland.  By  this  theory,  substance,  in  its  imaginable 
ultimate  first  state,  exists  of  two  faces,  sides,  or  aspects, 
the  material,  or  bodily,  and  the  vital,  or  mental.  And 
these  sides,  or  aspects,  are  analogous  to  what  is  under- 
stood by  the  properties  of  matter.  And  by  similarly 
uniting  they  constitute  this  underlying  first  form  of  sub- 
stance ;  from  which  all  other  forms  and  phenomena  of 
universal  being  have  ascended. 


THE    OBJECTIONS    EEVIEWED.  213 

The  difference  between  this  and  the  previous  theory 
by  Mr.  Tjudall,  in  respect  to  the  first  form  of  matter, 
at  first  view  would  appear  slight,  if  indeed  they  would 
not  seem  identical  with  each  other.  Nevertheless  the 
difference  is  very  important.  In  the  previous,  substance, 
primarily,  is  life  itself, — all  visible  distinctions  thereof, 
such  as  the  many  forms  of  matter,  being  but  of  its 
phases,  and  due  to  some  unexplained  law.  It  therefore 
requires  no  "  union, " — is  just  the  thing  in  this  respect  that 
this  of  Mr.  Bain  in  vain  hopes  to  be — a  solitary  one- 
ness, and  in  no  sense  a  composite.  On  the  contrary 
this  of  Mr.  Bain  is  unavoidably  beset  with  the  ever  em- 
barrassing dualism  in  its  "  unity ^ "  being  always  a  double- 
facedness.  Even  though,  as  provided  by  the  terms  of 
the  proposition,  the  joined  faces  constitute  its  verity,  so 
that  apart  from  the  unity,  substance  and  faces  are  alike 
without  existence,  the  troublesome  idea  is  not  effaced. 
Taken  in  any  way  imaginable,  while  unity  and  plurality 
fail  to  convey  the  same  thought,  a  two-faced  unity  will 
only  be  understood  as  a  two-fold  representation !  In 
this  case  the  one  of  the  representations,  or  faces,  of  the 
unity,  supplies  the  material — the  mineral,  purely  passive 
quality, — while  the  other  supplies  the  immaterial,  vital 
and  sentient. 

But  as  to  what  about  these  states  which  these  factors 
of  substance  severally  represent,  this  theory  is  utterly 
silent.  It  seems  wholly  unaware  that  it  has  solved  noth- 
ing till  the  problem  of  the  states  belonging  to  these 
facial  representations  is  solved.  These  states  could  be 
no  less  facts  than  would  be  their  representatives !     The 


214  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

mineral  or  passive  "face,"  or  aspect,  representative, 
would  be  due  to  anterior  mineral  forces  with  their  em- 
bodying mineral  substance,  though  not  yet  arrived  at  a 
state  of  matter ;  while  the  vital,  mental,  etc.,  representa- 
tive would  be  equally  inexorable  in  its  logical  requisition 
of  a  prior  vital  and  mental  domain  of  being.  But  this 
fact  seems  persistently  overlooked  by  this  school  of 
writers. 

There  is  a  notable  want  of  confidence  and  clearness, 
of  conception,  also,  on  the  part  of  writers  in  defense  of 
this  theory,  necessarily  seen  in  the  embarrassment  of 
their  efforts  to  vest  its  conditions  in  satisfactory  state- 
ments. Professor  Bain,  Aberdeen's  eminent  logician 
and  physiologist,  champions  this  theory  in  his  usual 
able  style.  He  is  concededly  one  of  the  ablest  advo- 
cates the  theory  has  been  favored  with  up  to  the  present 
time.  His  work  entitled  "Mind  and  Body,"  contains 
the  most  direct,  painstaking  and  satisfactory  effort  at 
stating  and  solving  its  conditions,  yet  published.  But, 
while  invincibly  adhering  to  his  purpose,  with  his  most 
careful  and  artful  use  of  language  upon  it,  he  frankly 
concedes  his  inability  to  wholly  set  aside  the  objections 
referred  to.  The  following  are  examples  of  the  estima- 
tion he  places  on  the  difficulties  he  encounters,  and  of 
the  darkness  in  which  he  is  obliged  to  leave  it  after 
endeavoring  to  render  his  theory  available.  In  the  un- 
dertaking he  submits  a  series  of  labored  attempts  at  re- 
lieving th6  "  undivided  twin  "  and  the  "  two-sided  "  cause 
in  respect  to  the  facts  of  mind  and  body  from  the  per- 
sistent realness  of  duality  in  their  union.     This  is  to  be 


THE    OBJECTIONS    EEVIEWED.  215 

SO  done  that,  in  the  first  instance,  the  twin  shall  not  after 
all  really  be  a  twin,  and,  in  the  second  place,  that  the 
two-sidedness  of  the  "  cause  "  shall  not  have  reference 
to  two  effecting  potencies  jointly  contributing  to  the 
existence  referred  to. 

This  is  necessary  with  a  view  to  getting  rid  of  the 
two-fold  reality  while  still  retaining  a  necessary  ad- 
herence to  the  two-fold  aspect,  leaving  it  consistent  to 
speak  of  mind  and  body  separately  without  conceding 
that  they  really  are  so  and  represent  different  existences. 
After  this  troublesome  undertaking,  he  sees  proper  to 
submit  this  important  concession :  "  While  admitting 
that  there  is  something  unique,  if  not  remarkable,  in 
the  close  incorporation  of  the  two  extreme  and  con- 
trasted facts,  termed  Mind  and  Matter,  we  must  grant 
that  the  total  difference  of  their  nature  has  rendered  the 
union  very  puzzling  to  express  in  language.  The  history 
of  the  question  repeatedly  exemplifies  this  difficulty" 
(p.  134). 

Of  like  character  with  this  is  the  following  conces- 
sion :  "  This,  then,  as  it  appears  to  me,  is  the  only 
real  difficulty  of  the  physical  and  mental  relationship. 
There  is  an  alliance  with  matter,  with  the  object,  or  ex- 
tended world,  but  the  thing  allied,  the  mind  proper,  has 
itself  no  extension,  and  cannot  be  joined  in  local  union. 
Now  we  have  a  difficulty  in  providing  any  form  of  lan- 
guage, any  familiar  analogy,  suited  to  this  unique  con- 
junction ;  in  comparison  with  all  ordinary  unions,  it  is 
a  paradox  or  a  contradiction  "  (p.  136). 

The  trouble  is  that  Mind  and  Matter  are  "  two  ex- 


216  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

treme  and  contrasted  facts  "  and  cannot  be  referred  to 
one  and  the  same  subjective  fact  or  state ;  and  the  ad- 
mission of  this  is  fatal  to  the  purely  mineralistic  theory. 
To  recognize  the  union  is  unavoidable, — it  is  a  mineral, 
selected  and  wrought  into  flesh  and  blood,  etc.,  made 
into  a  living  phenomenon,  by  the  presence  upon  it  of  a 
force  of  an  adequate  nature  !  And  yet  to  speak  of  it  in 
this  way,  is  to  speak  of  two  forces  not  only  but  of  the 
substances  whose  natures  they  represent  and  of  which 
they  are  respectively  embodied !  Hence  a  lack  of  the  lan- 
guage ( ?)  that  will  express  the  desired  result ! — that  will 
give  us  a  "unity,"  a  "union,"  a  "conjunction,"  an 
"  alliance  "without  the  reality  of  the  constituent  parts!  In 
the  professor's  last  effort,  in  this  work,  to  give  an  in- 
telligent statement  of  the  theory  in  question,  after  all 
his  faithful  labors  have  been  expended  upon  it,  he  leaves 
it  as  much  as  ever  in  the  dark.  Although  he  seems  to 
have  won  his  own  assurance  in  respect  to  it,  and  is  will- 
ing to  assume  that  doubting  ones,  who  have  followed 
him,  are  all  safely  transposed  to  his  side.    He  says : 

"  The  arguments  for  the  two  substances  have,  we  be- 
lieve, now  entirely  lost  their  validity ;  they  are  no  longer 
compatible  with  ascertained  science  and  clear  thinking. 
The  one  substance,  with  the  two  sets  of  properties,  two 
sides,  the  physical  and  the  mental — a  double-faced  unity 
— would  appear  to  comply  with  all  the  exigencies  of  the 
case.  We  are  to  deal  with  this,  as  in  the  language  of 
the  Athanasian  Creed,  not  confounding  the  persons 
nor  dividing  the  substance  "  (p.  126). 

This,  so  far  as   I  know,  is  the  first  service  that  the 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  217 

creed  has  rendered  to  science !  My  impression  also  is 
that  it  was  formulated  quite  independently  of  scientific 
considerations,  and  was  never  hoped  nor  expected  to  ex- 
press anything  that  was  possible  in  nature.  And  with 
this  understanding  of  it  in  the  present  case,  the  pro- 
fessor has  honored  himself  in  selecting  it  as  the  closing 
tribute  of  labor  in  behalf  of  the  "  double-faced  unity. " 
I  apprehend,  however,  that,  outside  of  this  subject,  he 
would  consider  "  ascertained  science  and  clear  thinking  " 
available  in  more  tangible  terms. 

As  a  matter  of  science,  this  theory,  then,  is  to  be  objected 
to  on  the  ground  of  the  seeming  irreconcilable  self-con- 
tradictions in  which  it  is  involved.  As  touching  the 
doctrine  of  future  life,  its  conditions  seem  utterly  in- 
compatible with  the  theory  of  life  separate  from  the 
physical  body ;  and,  aside  from  this,  it  makes  the  basis 
of  positive  existence  itself  mineral  or  at  best  limited  by 
mineral  conditions.  Cutting  off  entirely  all  conditions 
upon  which  a  future  life  may  be  projected,  it  bleakly 
points  future-ward  as  regards  life  that  now  is,  to  an 
eternal  nothingness.  The  soul  with  the  body  returns 
in  common  dust,  to  the  earth  from  which,  by  undirected 
chance,  it  aggregated  into  being,  its  sundered  particles 
to  stray  hopelessly  apart  upon  the  ever  changing  drifts 
of  endless  time. 

But,  disagreeable  as  is  the  impression  the  theory 
legitimately  tends  to  make  on  the  full  and  healthy 
mind,  that  is  not  the  motive  that  happily  sets  it  aside. 
It  is  rejected  only  because,  as  seen,  it  fails  to  accord 


218  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

with  the  facts  with  which  it  is  related  and  to  which  itself 
appeals. 

MINERALISTIC    THEORY    OF    LITE. 

The  last  negative  to  the  theory  of  a  future  life  here 
to  be  considered,  and  one  already  referred  to,  is  that 
mind,  with  vitahty  generally,  is  the  result  of  organiza- 
tion, and,  therefore,  must  also  end  with  it.  For,  con- 
sidering either  of  the  several  theories  of  matter  just 
reviewed,  by  neither  of  them  is  matter  available  for 
actual  life  till  it  is  brought  into  requisite  form.  There 
is  no  life — no  living  phenomenon — till  organization  is 
achieved — till  in  requisite  proportion  and  requisite  rela- 
tions with  each  other  the  ultimate  molecular  atoms  are 
brought  together.  This  having  occurred,  life  has  occurred. 

In  proceeding  then  to  consider  this  negative,  it  is  im- 
portant to  first  set  before  us  what  its  advocates  regard 
life  itself  to  be.  And  for  this  purpose  Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer  is  perhaps  the  most  available.  He  is  more  ex- 
plicit than  any  of  his  contemporaries,  so  far  as  I  have 
seen.  After  submitting  various  definitions  tentatively, 
none  of  which  seem  to  him  entirely  free  from  objection, 
he  concludes  that  "  the  broadest  and  most  complete  defini- 
tion of  life  will  be — The  continuous  adjustment  of  internal 
relations  with  external  relations''  (Principles  of  Biology,  vol. 
1,  p.  80).  This  definition  he  applies  to  it  in  "  all  its  man- 
ifestations, inclusive  of  intelligence  in  its  highest  forms  "■ 
(First  Principles,  p.  85).  Also  these  internal  relations 
are  defined  to  be  "definite  combinations  of  simulta- 
neous and  successive  changes  "  (Principles  of  Biology, 


•    THE    OBJECTIONS    KEVIEWED.  219 

• 

vol.  1,  p.  81).  The  continuous  adjustment  of  these 
with  "  co-existences  and  sequences  "  (ibid) — that  is,  con- 
tinuous adjustment  with  adjacent  nature  and  its  phe- 
nomena, constitutes  Life.  And  this  is  what  we  are  to 
understand  Life  to  be  from  the  standpoint  of  this 
philosophy. 

Now,  by  this  definition  of  Life,  it  is  the  result  not 
alone  of  organization  in  individual  forms — of  some 
requisite  group  of  forces  by  a  corresponding  group  of 
their  atoms,  but  it  is  the  result  of  the  joining  of  such 
with  the  related  external  forces.  By  this,  then.  Life  is 
contingent  on  three  several  facts  :  the  internal  relations, 
the  external  relations  and  their  continuous  adjustment. 
And  with  either  discontinued.  Life  is  discontinued. 

Of  whatever  nature  he  may  consider  the  internal  re- 
lations to  be,  even  though  they  were  purely  psychical, 
the  external  are  purely  mineral,  and  the  separation  from 
them  would  be  the  ending  of  this  mysterious  molecular 
complexity  called  Life. 

Life,  then,  "  in  all  its  manifestations,  inclusive  of  in- 
telligence in  its  highest  forms,"  by  this  mineralistic 
school  of  philosophy,  represented  by  Mr.  Spencer  in 
the  preceding,  is  to  be  regarded  as  merely  a  condition 
of  certain  phases  of  the  mineral  element !  Self  is  but 
that  condition,  and  nothing  more. 

In  considering  the  attainment  of  organization  and 
the  fixed  variety  of  organization  as  well,  from  the  bare 
mineral  state,  it  is  necessary  to  bridge  or  leap  over  an 
immense  chasm.  The  great  unlikeness  of  the  organ- 
ized and  the  unorganized  aspects  of  nature,  with  hardly 


220  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

an  analogy  between  them,  would  require  a  mode  of  in- 
sight that  would  certainly  be  extraordinary  if  not  mi- 
raculous, to  show  that  they  are  of  the  same  order  of 
existence. 

As  to  how  Mr.  Spencer  arrives  at  organization  of 
matter — how  the  unorganized  becomes  organized,  the 
pivotal  point  of  the  whole  question,  and  where  light 
were  more  valuable  than  anywhere  else,  and  where  the 
eye  of  solicitude  rests  and  ever  has  rested  since  the  issue 
first  arose,  he  fails  to  be  explicit.  Kef  erring  to  the  in- 
teresting facts  of  chemical  evolution,  resulting  in  in- 
creased complexities  having  correspondingly  increased 
sensitiveness,  he  follows  the  principle  along  upward  by 
illustration  and  then  by  inference,  from  simple  or  binary 
relations,  till  he  arrives  at  the  delicate  colloidal  aggre- 
gates, where  he  abruptly  introduces  us  to  "  organic 
molecules  "  or  "  organic  atoms, "  without  thinking  it 
worth  while  to  account  for  their  presence. 

It  is  true  that  he  tells  us  that  "  organic  matters  are 
produced  in  the  laboratory  by  what  we  may  literally  call 
artificial  evolution  "  (Principles  of  Biology,  p.  482).  But 
by  this  he  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  only  to  organ- 
izahle  matter  and  not  matter  formed  into  organism. 
The  artificial  evolution  refers  to  the  attainment  of 
chemical  complexities  "ending  in  organizable  proto- 
plasm. "  So  much  he  finds  it  possible  to  explain  quite 
satisfactorily,  but  at  the  very  next  and  supremely  essential 
point — "the  molding  of  such  organic  matter  into  the 
simplest  types, "  he  conjectures,  "  must  have  commenced 
with  portions  of  protoplasm  more  minute,  more  indefi- 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  221 

nite,  and  more  inconstant  in  their  characters,  than  the 
lowest  Ehizopods — ^less  distinguished  from  a  mere  frag- 
ment of  albumen  than  even  the  Protogenes  of  Professor 
Haeckel"  (p.  481).  And  "to  reach  by  this  process  the 
comparatively  well-specialized  forms  of  ordinary  Infu- 
soridy  must  *  *  have  taken  an  enormous  period  of 
time  "  (ibid). 

This  is  rather  obscuring  than  defining  the  great  tran- 
sition of  matter  from  the  dead  to  the  living  state.  It 
"  must  have  commenced  "  with  a  substance  practically 
indistinguishable  from  albumen  and  in  inaccessible  ages 
past,  is  by  no  means  a  clear  statement  of  how  a  piece 
of  mineral  jelly  became  transmuted  into  life ! 

Also,  without  any  further  attempt  at  explaining  how 
from  dead  mineral  substance  they  came  to  be  such,  ex- 
cept to  say  that  the  process  "  likely  *  *  took  place 
at  a  time  when  the  heat  of  the  earth's  surface  was  fall- 
ing through  those  ranges  of  temperature  at  which  the 
higher  organic  compounds  are  unstable  "  (ibid),  "  living 
particles  "  and  "  physiological  units  "  (pp.  180,  287)  are 
taken  in  hand  and  invested  with  "  an  innate  tendency  to 
arrange  themselves  into  the  shape  of  the  organism  to 
which  they  belong  "  (p.  180).  That  is,  to  follow  obedi- 
ently the  typal  design  of  which  they  are  predestined 
parts. 

And  now  we  shall  see  that  trouble  which  was  insur- 
mountable at  the  very  first  steps  of  this  theory,  thickens 
with  its  progress.  While  no  light  was  at  hand  to  show 
us  the  mode  of  the  great  transformation  from  the  pas- 
sive mineral  to  the  subjective  living  state,  and  we  were 


222  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

obliged  to  proceed  without  a  solution,  now  even  greater 
will  be  the  difficulty  when  the  theory  is  to  be  carried 
into  organization — the  accounting  for  the  presence  of 
those  units  in  the  peculiar  arrangement  seen  in  a  living 
being.  That  this  aggregation  of  so-called  physiolog- 
ical units  has  proceeded  upon  method  is  unavoidable. 
And  to  account  for  the  method,  it  must  be  placed  in  a 
general  system  of  co-ordinating  forces,  characterized  by 
fixed  typal  tendency,  aggregating  and  distributing  the 
"  units  "  as  they  are  required  to  complete  the  design ; 
or  it  must  be  placed  in  the  units  themselves,  each  of 
which  must  know  not  only  the  animal,  but  the  place  in 
the  animal  to  which  it  belongs.  So  that  when  each  one 
has  attained  to  its  place,  the  animal  is  the  result,  phys- 
ically and  sentiently. 

The  theory  assumes  the  latter.  Mr.  Spencer  says  in 
respect  to  this,  "  We  have  seen  it  to  be  necessary  from 
various  orders  of  facts  *  *  *  that  organisms  are 
built  up  of  certain  highly  complex  molecules,  which  we 
distinguish  as  physiological  units — each  kind  of  organ- 
ism being  built  up  of  physiological  units  peculiar  to 
itself.  We  found  ourselves  obliged  to  recognize  in 
these  physiological  units  powers  of  arranging  them- 
selves into  the  forms  of  organism  to  which  they  belong  " 
(Principles  of  Biology,  vol.  2,  p.  8).  The  passage  in  which 
he  refers  to  this  is  where  he  has  made  full  application  of 
this  theory,  and  is  the  following :  "  We  have  therefore 
no  alternative  but  to  say,  that  the  living  particles  com- 
posing one  of  these  fragments,  have  an  innate  tendency 
to  arrange  themselves  into  the  shape  of  the  organism 


THE    OBJECTIONS    KEVIEWED.  223 

to  which  they  belong.  We  must  infer  that  a  plant  or 
animal  of  any  species,  is  made  up  of  special  units,  in 
all  of  which  there  dwells  the  intrinsic  aptitude  to  ag- 
gregate into  the  form  of  that  species :  just  as  in  the 
atoms  of  salt,  there  dwells  the  intrinsic  aptitude  to 
crystallize  in  that  particular  wiay.  It  seems  difficult  to 
conceive  that  this  can  be  so,  but  we  see  that  it  is  so  " 
(Principles  of  Biology,  pp.  180—181). 

This'  view  not  only  credits  each  of  these  wonderful 
units  with  an  "  intrinsic  aptitude  "  to  aggregate  itself 
to  its  own  species  and  its  exact  place  in  the  organism, 
but  also  with  the  sentience  of  the  complete  being  of  the 
animal  or  plant  to  which  it  belongs !  Otherwise,  by 
what  means  would  be  avoided  a  hopeless  jumble,  ex- 
travagance, and  indefinite  multiplication  of  the  several 
parts  ?  How  could  the  tail  units  determine,  relatively 
to  the  other  parts,  where  the  tail  is  to  be  developed  ? 
How,  when  a  lizard  loses  an  arm,  these  caudal  units 
do  not  happen  to  rush  to  the  spot  and  build  out  a  tail 
in  the  place  of  the  new  arm  that  appears  ?  How  could 
the  claw  and  the  leaf  units  come  to  discontinue  their 
additions  when  the  claw  and  the  leaf  have  attained 
their  standard  size  ?  And,  as  said,  how  could  the  tail 
tmits  limit  their  construction  to  but  one  tail?  And 
how  could  the  eye  units  come  to  not  all  double  up  into 
only  one  eye,  but  must  distribute  themselves  into  exactly 
^2^70,  or  as  the  species  requires  ? 

Now  if  there  is  not  sentience  here  employed,  covering 
the  whole  of  the  details  of  the  organism,  how  shall  we 
be  assured  that  such  a  principle  as  sentience  has  an  ex- 


224  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

istence  ?  And  if  this  "  intrinsic  aptitude  "  covers  all  there 
is  of  this,  where  but  in  this  intrinsic  aptitude  is  this 
super-human  sentience  to  be  located  ? 

It  is  of  no  consequence  to  the  argument  that  we  say 
it,  and  if  these  deductions  of  our  author  are  factSf 
there  is  no  objection  to  be  raised ;  but  while  we  are 
about  it  there  could  be  no  impropriety  in  taking  a  view 
of  the  picture  which  this  theory  places  before  us.  By 
the  immutable  law  of  sequence,  these  postulates  make 
us  to  see  an  astounding  picture  of  the  vast  body  of  nat- 
ure. We  see  this  whole  cosmical  existence  as  being  a 
field  in  which  a  densely  crowded  panorama  is  revolving, 
— ^not  only  of  these  far-seeing  units,  on  the  alert  for 
formative  opportunities  to  come  into  proper  and  ap- 
pointed relations  with  each  other,  but  all  the  myriad 
swarms  of  vegetable  and  animal  beings,  in  all  their 
complete  personal  appointments  in  a  pregenital  exist- 
ence, are  suspended  therein;  their  distributed  atoms 
waiting  in  turns  at  the  door  of  generation  the  signal  for 
the  assembling  of  their  "  units  "  and  the  completion  of 
the  practical  organism. 

This  may  be  observed  to  transpire  somewhat  after 
the  circumstance  of  the  pioneer  going  to  make  a  home 
on  a  western  prairie.  He  has  his  house  built  before 
going,  but  ships  the  parts  in  a  promiscuous  package  to 
be  properly  joined  on  their  arrival.  Only,  in  the  case 
of  the  house,  the  beams  and  braces  and  boards  and 
shingles,  do  not  come  together  from  an  intrinsic  aptitude 
on  the  part  of  each  to  take  its  place  in  the  arrange- 
ment, as  Mr.  Spencer  sees  his  physiological  units  doing. 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  225 

Not  knowing  how  to  account  for  it  on  other  principles, 
the  conclusion  would  be  quite  justifiable  that  each  of 
these  "  units "  of  the  house  by  an  intrinsic  aptitude 
took  its  place, — that  it  foresaw  in  detail  the  shape  and 
character  of  the  structure  that  it  was  included  in ;  but 
it  were  more  in  accord  with  current  facts  to  say  that 
the  aptitude  and  the  intelligence  were  in  an  attendant 
artisan  and  not  in  the  beams  and  boards  themselves. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  endeavoring  to  gain  a  sub- 
stantial footing  for  the  origin  of  life,  consistent  with 
what  life  truly  is,  Mr.  Spencer  abandons,  for  the  time, 
his  favorite  doctrine  of  evolution  by  environment,  in 
this  theory  of  physiological  units,  above  set  forth,  by 
endowing  them  with  inherent  powers  to  escape  environ- 
ment and  voluntarily  build  themselves  into  living  or- 
ganisms. And  yet,  in  making  the  immense  sacrifice, 
no  relief  is  gained  from  the  ever  troublesome  fact  that 
to  that  anteceding  force,  necessary  to  their  existence, 
which  can  resolve  itself  into  nothing  but  a  sentient 
volitience,  no  form  of  mineral  aspect  can  be  made  to 
apply.  And  this  leaves  it  so  that  even  the  theory  of 
special  creation,  for  which  he  has  so  little  charity,  may, 
after  all,  be  the  last  resort  in  accounting  for  the  ex- 
istence of  these  units  and  the  beings  they  represent ! 

OP  THE  GENESIS  OF  NERVES. 

It  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  work  to  follow  this 
mineralistic  philosophy  into  its  details  very  extendedly ; 
but  Mr.  Spencer,  in  seeking  to  account  for  the  origin  of 

15 


226  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

nerves,  seeks  again  to  get  on  without  crediting  the  ex- 
istence of  a  prior  typal  life  principle  to  act  upon  the 
mineral  aggregates;  now  again  reverting  back  to  his 
favorite  theory  of  development  by  environment.  In  re- 
spect to  the  origin  of  nerves,  he  observes  that  "  in  all 
cases,  motion  follows  the  line  of  the  greatest  traction 
or  least  resistance,  or  the  resultant  of  the  two ; "  and 
that  "  motion  once  set  up  along  any  line  becomes  itself 
a  cause  of  subsequent  motion  along  that  line  "  (Princi- 
ples of  Psychology,  vol.  1,  pp.  5 — 11).  On  this  prin- 
ciple, protoplasmic  matter  in  incipient  organisms, 
having  nerve  filaments,  becoming  impacted  with  force 
from  the  environment,  the  passage  of  the  force  taking 
the  route  of  the  least  resistance,  leaves  in  that  direction, 
first  a  general  outlet  or  inlet  for  force,  and  lastly  by 
long  use  of  this  kind,  reduces  it  to  a  channel  or  thread, 
into  which  the  sensitive  filaments  drop  and  constitute  a 
nerve  (p.  515). 

At  least  two  facts  are  hopelessly  in  the  way  of  this 
otherwise  plausible  theory.  In  the  first  place,  environ- 
ment, without  intelligent  or  instinctive  direction,  is 
without  requisite  uniformity  of  condition ;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  without  the  operation  of  antecedent  typal 
forces  on  these  colloidal  or  protoplasmic  masses,  these 
"  lines  of  the  least  resistance  "  would  be  utterly  without 
conformity.  And,  save  by  mere  accident,  the  individ- 
ual developments  would  be  radically  unlike;  and  as 
under  this  state  of  things  repetitions  of  force  passages 
over  the  same  lines  would  rarely,  if  ever,  occur  in  more 
than  the  same  individual,  this  theory  of  nerve  genesis 


THE    OBJECTIONS    REVIEWED.  227 

becomes  extremely  improbable,  if  not  altogether  impos- 
sible ! 

While  nerves  may  be  and  seemmgly  are  formed  after 
this  general  manner,  this  method  as  truly  as  all  others, 
renders  it  necessary  to  include  a  differentiating  power 
back  of  this  external  process  to  shape  and  maintain  the 
requisite  conditions.  And  so  at  this  second  stage  of 
vital  development,  as  truly  as  at  the  first,  the  mineral- 
istic  philosophy  shows  itself  powerless  to  get  on  without 
involving  the  existence  of  a  domain  of  vital  substance, 
from  the  instinctive  and  sentient  forces  of  which,  oper- 
ating upon  the  mineral  domain,  the  whole  list  of  vital 
phenomena  proceed. 

Now  this  is  the  entire  lore  of  the  mineralistic  school 
of  philosophy,  claiming  the  mind  and  the  vital  princi- 
ple generally,  to  be  results,  or  rather  states,  of  physical 
organization.  Of  all  their  voluminous  works  covering 
this  subject,  none  embodies  statements  or  arguments 
more  strongly  maintaining  that  claim.  There  is  not  a 
bottom  principle  that  is  not  fully  comprehended  in 
what  has  been  here  brought  forward  and  examined,  in 
all  the  volumes,  worthy  of  consideration,  that  have  been 
contributed  to  the  illustration  and  defense  of  this  theory. 
And  the  reader  must  judge  whether,  after  all,  there  is 
in  them  the  strength — the  conclusive  evidence  of  sound- 
ness, that  has  many  times  been  claimed  for  them,  or 
whether  they  do  not  show  evidence  of  hurried  conclusion 
on  the  part  of  men  who  looked  upon  the  subject  as 
more  or  less  hopeless  of  a  solution  in  harmony  with  a 
cherished  theory. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

Man  in  His  Essential  Self  Continues  Beyond  the 
Limits  of  Physical  Existence,  Continued. — The 
Abgument  foe  the  Affirmative. 

HAVING  now  considered,  in  all  their  essential  details 
and  to  an  extent  which  the  limits  of  this  work 
will  hardly  justify,  the  doubts  and  negatives  respecting 
the  continuance  of  man's  existence  in  a  state  beyond 
death,  we  turn  to  the  argument  for  the  affirmative. 
And  we  begin  by  restating  the  position  taken  at  the 
first  of  the  preceding  chapter,  that  "the  part  that 
physical  science  has  to  act  in  settling  the  question  of  a 
future  life,  is  to  determine  the  relation  of  mind  and 
body ;  from  which  it  is  to  be  ascertained  that  the  mind 
as  well  as  the  soul  with  which  it  is  identified,  is,  or  is 
not,  in  its  essential  wholeness,  separable  from  the  body. 
Then  when  such  a  separation  is  found  possible,  that,  at 
the  death  of  the  body,  it  is  actual  as  well. "  To  this 
last  proposition  a  more  full  consideration  will  be  given 
in  the  next  chapter. 

In  considering  our  existence,  we  first  of  all  contem- 
plate our  nature  as  a  sentient  self.  We  pass  through 
hours  of  time  without  our  clothing  or  our  body 
having  come  into  our  thoughts  at  all.     The  current  ap- 

228 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         229 

prehension  is  that  our  self  is  in  some  sense  residing  in 
or  about  the  body.  The  body  concerns  us  mainly  in 
two  respects :  Our  feeling  extends  into  it,  and  our  con- 
sciousness or  life  (external)  depends  on  it.  In  minor 
respects,  we  are  concerned  in  its  parts  for  the  uses  they 
are  to  us,  and  the  aspect  of  ourselves  they  constitute. 
But  did  our  feeling  extend  into  our  clothing,  our  cane 
or  crutch,  our  sense  of  self  would  be  found  there  quite 
as  much  as  it  is  in  our  skin  or  arm  or  leg. 

Indeed,  the  material  part  of  our  existence  can  hardly, 
if  at  all,  be  brought  into  realization  as  self.  Taking  a 
survey  of  our  whole  anatomy,  part  by  part,  or  in  its 
effective  wholeness,  the  sense  of  it  as  an  external  object 
is  irresistible. 

Now,  this  being  a  fact  which  we  need  to  refer  only  to 
common  observation  and  experience,  we  must  treat  it  as 
such  and  give  it  its  due  weight  in  the  discussion.  It  is, 
to  be  sure,  not  cited  as  positive  proof,  but  as  a  cor- 
roborative circumstance — a  cumulative  proof.  This 
manner  of  mental  disturbance  is  not  without  adequate 
cause,  and  one  that  cannot  be  whoUy  attributed  to  edu- 
cation. It  prevails  with  people  of  little  education  of 
any  kind,  and  whose  state  of  intelligence  would  most 
readily  incline  them  to  the  opposite  view  and  conclusion. 

That,  then,  this  disturbing  cause  lies  in  a  fact  some- 
what in  accord  with  the  impulse,  would  be  the  legiti- 
mate inference, — that  though  so  related  with  it  that  the 
forces  of  the  two  are  interlacing  each  other,  the  self  in 
its  effective  wholeness,  is  in  a  sense  separate  from  and 
not  at  all  identical  with  the  body.     And  now  it  is  our 


230  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

next  business  to  see  what  corroborations  can  be  pro- 
duced from  the  facts  of  human  existence  to  confirm  this 
common  impression  respecting  ourself  and  our  em- 
bodiment. And  here  we  need  not  be  long  considering 
where  we  will  begin.  All  sentient  operations  exclusively 
pertain  to  the  nervous  system. 

In  viewing  the  voluminous  mass  of  brain,  securely 
lying  within  the  bony  integument  of  the  skull,  and  from 
it  proceeding  directly,  or  indirectly,  by  way  of  the  great 
spinal  cord,  the  meshes  of  white  or  of  silvery  gray 
strands,  threads  and  fibers  of  microscopic  fineness,  one 
beholds  all  there  is  in  the  physical  aspect  of  man  that 
is  at  all  concerned  with  any  form  of  mind  or  feeling. 
The  masses  of  bones,  flesh  and  the  substances  incident 
to  the  flesh,  that  constitute  the  chief  mass  of  the  hu- 
man body  are  as  remote  from  the  mind  as  are  the  hat 
and  the  coat.  The  feeling  that  is  realized  in  connection 
with  them  is  from  the  presence  of  these  nerves  lying 
through  them.  An  insensuous  connection  is  seen  to  ex- 
ist between  certain  nerve  filaments  and  the  muscular 
fiber.  However  this  is  by  way  of  the  induction  princi- 
ple known  in  electricity.  The  nerve  itself  is  wrapped 
about  by  an  insulating  integument ;  and  in  this  manner 
of  exclusion  ramifies  the  physical  tissue ;  and  by  the 
inductive  process  effects  muscular  activity.  In  respect 
to  this  Dr.  Lionel  S.  Beale,  of  London,  an  authority  on 
Microscopic  Anatomy  that  will  be  conceded  by  the 
learned  everywhere,  whom  Professor  Bain  extensively 
follows  in  his  celebrated  work  on  Mind  and  Body,  ob- 
serves : 


THE  AKGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIEMATIVE.         231 

"I  have  given  a  drawing  taken  from  a  beautiful 
specimen  of  muscular  tissue,  in  which  the  ultimate 
ramifications  of  the  nerve  fibers  are  very  clearly  demon- 
strated. Many  points  here  illustrated  have  long  been 
and  are  still  disputed  by  anatomists.  Some  think  the 
motor  nerves  pass  into  the  substance  of  the  muscular 
fibers,  others  that  they  are  connected  with  special  or- 
gans imbedded  in  and  in  close  contact  with  the  muscu- 
lar tissue,  but  at  least  as  regards  the  particular  muscles 
represented,  I  feel  sure  that  the  arrangement  as  I  have 
given  it  is  correct.  In  my  specimens  the  fine  nerve  fi- 
bers traversing  the  muscular  fibers  can  be  seen  very 
distinctly.  The  bioplasts  often  come  very  close  to  the 
muscular  tissue,  but  they  are  not  imbedded  in  it.  *  * 
Although  the  bioplasts  of  the  several  tissues  are  very 
near  to  one  another,  they  never  interfere  with  each 
other's  growth,  or  coalesce"  (Protoplasm,  pp.  255,  256). 

Here,  not  alone  the  nerve  and  muscle  fibers  are  in 
their  ultimate  ramifications  wholly  separate,  but  their 
bioplasts  (the  pabulums  of  their  subsistence  and  growth) 
are  also  peculiar  and  separate  from  each  other. 

This  is  not  saying  that  remotely  the  very  highest  men- 
tal element  may  not,  by  way  of  the  successively  lower  ele- 
ments, impinge  upon  and  control  even  the  mineral  forces 
in  the  states  below  the  lowest  vital  state,  and  without 
reference  to  organization.  The  fact  thereof,  as  already 
seen,  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  07%m  of  organization  itself. 
But  in  man's  physical  aspect,  all  sentient  transactions 
take  place  by  means  alone  of  the  forces  that  are  inci- 
dent to  the  nerve  circuits. 


232  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

THE    MODE    OF    NERVOUS    DEVICE. 

In  principle  of  arrangement  and  operation  the  whole 
system  of  nerves  is  quite  like  the  magnetic  telegraph ; 
the  nerve  fibers  being  tractile  to  what  is  called  nerve 
force,  the  same  as  the  telegraph  wire  is  tractile  to  elec- 
trical force.  Batteries  of  cups  or  cells  are  found  con- 
nected with  these  lines  of  nerves  to  supply  the  nerve 
force  with  which  they  are  charged,  after  the  manner 
that  in  telegraphy  batteries  are  placed  to  the  wires  to 
supply  them  with  the  force  with  which  electricity  is 
resident.  In  confirmation  of  this  Dr.  Beale,  above  re- 
ferred to,  says : 

"The  nervous  apparatus,  through  which  alone  the 
vital  power  of  the  highest  bioplasm  of  every  creature 
acts,  consists  essentially  of  fine  fibers  which  form,  with 
the  mass  of  bioplasm,  uninterrupted  circuits.  The  fi- 
bers are  continuous  with  the  bioplasts,  and  grow  from 
them.  *  *  The  smallest  nerve  fiber  instead  of  re- 
sembling an  ordinary  telegraph  wire,  might  rather  be 
compared  with  a  bundle  of  wires,  each  having  its  bat- 
tery (mass  of  bioplasm  in  the  case  of  the  nerve)  con- 
nected with  it.  So  that  even  a  very  short  piece  of  nerve 
fiber  would  contain  numerous  bioplasts,  or  little  bat- 
teries, which  continue  to  act,  that  is,  give  rise  to  nerve 
currents  for  some  time  (the  period  varying  in  different 
cases)  after  the  nerve  has  been  removed  from  the  body  " 
(Protoplasm,  p.  317). 

In  this  quotation  Dr.  B.  is  in  substantial  accord  with 
the  learned  in  this  department,  everywhere ;  and  while 
it  is  seen  to  entirely  confirm  the  statements  just  made,  it 


THE  ABGUMENT  FOE  THE  AFFIKMATIVE.         233 

also  anticipates  my  next  observation  by  saying  that 
these  cells  "  give  rise  to  nerve  currents  for  some  time 
after  the  nerve  has  been  removed  from  the  body, "  and 
that  "  the  fibers  are  continuous  with  the  bioplasts  and 
grow  from  them."  The  next  fact,  then,  to  be  noted, 
and  one  that  immensely  concerns  this  subject,  is  that 
the  force  called  nerve  force,  which  is  subservient  to  the 
higher  forces  of  mind,  feeling,  etc.,  is  not  originated  in 
the  nerve  fibers  at  all  but  is  delivered  to  them  out  of 
a  form  of  substance  that  is  simply  adjacent,  and 
much  less  complex,  and  at  most  of  barely  any  organi- 
zation ;  while  often  it  is  simply  a  tractile  mass  with  no 
form  of  organization  visible. 

Now  that  the  nerve  forces  and  the  construction 
of  the  nervous  fabric,  as  we  have  seen,  proceed  from 
the  bioplastic  cells,  it  is  plain  that  by  way  of  those 
cells,  mainly,  the  unconscious  and  the  conscious  opera- 
tions of  the  mind  upon  the  body  take  place,  and  that 
the  forces  that  so  sentiently  actuate  the  nerves  and  give 
expression  to  the  whole  organism,  in  whatever  form  it 
may  be  that  they  exist,  hold  only  a  certain  form  of  re- 
lation therewith.  If  the  mind  were  in  any  way  iden- 
tical with  or  dependent  on  the  organization,  we  should 
certainly  see  its  presence  first  with  the  highest  forms  of 
organization — in  the  nerve  fabric  itself — and  not  in  the 
lowest,  and  least  elaborate,  even  in  that  that  has  not  yet 
attained  to  the  simplest  form  of  organization.  This,  it 
would  seem,  must  cut  off  all  means  of  presuming  that 
the  mind  is  within  or  in  any  proper  sense  limited  to  the 
enclosure  of  the  nervous  integuments ;  and  would  leave 


234  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

it  only  possible  to  consider  self  as  a  separate  party; 
though  an  occupant  of  the  same  space  described  by  the 
bodily  limits. 

In  this  connection  it  is  still  further  important  to  be 
observed  that  seeing,  as  we  do,  that  the  mental  element 
is  in  no  fixed  relation  with  any  part  of  the  nerve  sub- 
stance, but  is  in  a  state  of  incessant  transference, — is 
not  fixedly,  but  transiently  actuating  the  parts,  we  find 
again  this  self  with  respect  to  the  body,  to  reside  ex- 
ternally of  it,  and  with  no  such  connections  with  it  vis- 
ible, as  would  render  its  efficient  individual  complete- 
ness contingent  on  the  union  of  the  two. 

DR.    FERRIEr's    experiments. 

The  fact  is  fully  established  that  the  co-ordination  of 
muscular  action  results  from  local  cerebral  arrangements. 
The  application  of  electrodes  to  different  parts  of  the 
gray  matter  of  the  brain,  which  is  the  external  layer, 
next  to  the  membranous  coverings  and  the  skull,  is 
followed  by  muscular  action  in  different  parts  of  the 
body.  Quite  recently.  Dr.  Ferrier,  of  England,  sub- 
mitted a  series  of  most  thorough  experiments  of  this 
kind  made  on  the  lower  animals,  cats,  monkeys,  rabbits 
and  dogs,  finding  the  principle  true  in  every  instance. 
Dr.  Ferrier,  in  these  observations  is  thoroughly  endorsed 
by  both  Dr.  Beale  and  Prof.  Carpenter,  and  the  reports 
of  his  experiments  they  have  extensively  embodied  in 
their  works. 

Dr.  Ferrier  has  carried  his  experiments  quite  into  de- 
tail ;  and  of  the  several  kinds  of  animals  examined,  has 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         235 

mapped  the  brain,  showing  the  locations  of  the  groups 
thus  actually  found,  much  after  the  manner  of  phrenol- 
ogists. The  following  statements  from  his  conclusions 
concerning  his  experiments  will  sufficiently  illustrate  his 
views : 

"1.  The  anterior  portions  of  the  cerebral  hemi- 
spheres are  the  chief  centers  of  voluntary  motion 
and  the  active  outward  manifestation  of  intelli- 
gence. 2.  The  individual  convolutions  are  separate 
and  distinct  centers;  and  in  certain  definite  groups 
of  convolutions  (to  some  extent  indicated  by  the  re- 
searches of  Fritsch  and  Hitzig)  and  in  corresponding 
regions  of  non-convoluted  brains,  are  localized  the  cen- 
ters for  the  various  movements  for  the  eyelids,  the  face, 
the  mouth  and  tongue,  the  ear,  the  neck,  hand,  foot 
and  tail.  Striking  differences  corresponding  with  the 
habits  of  the  animal  are  found  to  be  in  the  differentia- 
tion of  the  centers.  Thus  the  centers  for  the  tail  in 
dogs,  the  paws  in  cats,  the  lips  and  mouth  in  rabbits, 
are  highly  differentiated  and  pronounced  "  (Dr.  Beale 
on  Protoplasm,  p.  323).  Dr.  Hughlings  Jackson  has 
made  similar  observations  on  the  human  system. 

THE    SELF   AND   ITS    INSTRUMENT. 

Now,  in  the  lower  portion  of  this  gray-matter  layer 
of  the  brain,  whereon  these  electrodes  are  applied,  "  the 
number  of  nerve  fibers,  like  that  of  the  bioplasts,  is  al- 
together beyond  calculation.  A  portion  of  the  gray 
matter  upon  the  surface  of  the  convolutions,  not  larger 
than  the  head  of  a  very  small  pin,  will  contain  portions 
of  many  thousands  of  nerve  fibers,  the  distal  ramifications 


236  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

of  which  may  be  in  very  distant  and  different  parts  of  the 
body. "  And  these  masses  of  bioplastic  cells  and  their 
attendant  nerve  filaments,  are  formed  into  local  groups 
by  kinds,  with  reference  to  special  destinations  and 
offices,  as  is  seen  in  these  experiments.  However,  is  it 
not  the  same  mental  element  ? — ^the  same  sentient  voli- 
tional force  ? — indeed  the  very  and  complete  Self,  that 
appears  as  the  disturbing — the  actuating  cause  of  each 
of  these  several  groups  from  which  the  voluntary  mus- 
cular action  occurs  ?  Is  it  not  Self  that  appears  in  the 
voluntary  movements  of  the  foot,  the  eye,  the  hand  or  the 
tongue  ?  Does  not  Self  say,  I  am  doing  it?  There  cer- 
tainly is  no  plainer — not  a  more  pronounced  fact  of  any 
kind.  But  it  is  also  no  less  plain,  that  this  mental  ele- 
ment^ — this  sentient,  volitional  self-force,  passes,  without 
contact  with  intervening  ones,  from  one  of  these  groups 
over  to  another.  While  one  set  of  bioplasts,  or  more  or 
less  sets,  as  the  case  may  be,  which  are  correlated  in 
the  execution  of  one  given  purpose,  are  being  impacted 
by  it,  it  is  absent  from  others,  and,  in  turn,  will  also  be 
absent  from  these.  The  mental  element  is  to  be  seen 
operating  these  groups  of  bioplasts  and  nerves  upon 
'the  same  mechanical  principle  that  the  pianist  oper- 
ates the  keys  and  the  wires  of  the  piano  in  executing  a 
sentiment  of  music :  Now  the  ravishing  hands  fall  on 
these  keys,  and  now,  completely  leaving  these  and  pass- 
ing over  others,  descend  on  those,  striking  only  such  as 
are  grouped  in  the  strain  and  which  the  spirit  of  har- 
mony foresees  and  dictates  to  be  used  on  the  occasion. 
Eecognizing  here  that  it  may  be  judged  that  in  this 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIEMATIVE.         237 

illustration  I  have  not  covered  all  the  ground, — that  as 
there  are,  besides  the  fully  defined  intelligent  move- 
ments and  expressions,  many  that  are  vaguely  intelli- 
gent and  often  barely  traceable  as  such,  after  all  the 
inactive  groups  may  be  retaining  their  appropriate  parts 
of  mind,  but  in  a  state  of  comparative  latency;  and 
that  in  some  sense  the  mind  is  stni  identical  with  the 
brain  and  of  it.  This,  perhaps,  solitary  objection,  is 
readily  set  aside  by  the  fact  that  conceding  it,  it  were 
still  required  to  admit  the  existence  of  an  outside  and 
essentially  independent  mentality  to  impinge  upon 
and  arouse  the  latent  part  in  such  unison  with  other 
and  not  all  parts  as  to  obviate  confusion  and  produce 
intelligent  results!  But  for  the  purpose  of  rendering 
an  explanation  for  the  mixed  phenomena  referred  to,  it 
may  be  said  that  in  these  separate  actuations  of  the 
braia  groups  the  entire  self  may  not  always  be  employed. 
The  effort  or  intent  may  be  feeble  from  indifference  or 
hesitancy,  or  from  being  tentatively  distributed  to  a  va- 
riety of  objective  motives;  so  that  the  action  may  be 
aimless  and  irrelevant  or  seemingly  automatic.  Like 
as  when  the  operator's  mind  is  loosely  floating  amid  a 
congeries  of  harmonies,  his  leisure  fingers  stroll  listlessly 
over  the  keys,  but  in  the  moment  of  the  mind's  con- 
centration in  the  proposition  of  an  execution  they  de- 
scend in  a  harmonic  crash !  so,  too,  when  the  mental 
element  has  in  any  other  department  of  thought  become 
concentrated  into  an  active  purpose,  the  executive  men- 
tal force  is  precipitated  upon  the  required  groups,  and 
the   action   becomes   strongly   differentiated   and   pro- 


238  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

nounced.  It  will  be  seen,  also,  that  at  that  time  of 
mental  concentration  there  is  a  corresponding  absence 
of  diffused  phenomena  throughout  the  organism. 

In  this  connection  it  may  also  be  incidentally  noted  as 
a  fact  of  no  small  importance,  that  when  the  electrodes 
are  applied  only  general  movements  of  the  affected 
parts  are  elicited.  There  is  seen  no  detailing  of  move- 
ment with  reference  to  a  purpose — there  is  no  special- 
izing that  would  be  necessary  to  certifying  to  the  presence 
of  a  mental  cause.  Hence,  two  facts,  at  least,  must  be 
conceded:  First,  that  the  brain,  as  an  instrument, 
is,  comparatively,  a  simple  one, — in  device  is  not  of  the 
versatility  that  is  necessary  for  an  intellectual  aspect  of 
movement,  in  which  fact  we  are  again  reminded  that  it  is 
impossible  for  the  mind  to  be  the  result  of  this  phys- 
ical organization ;  and,  second,  that  the  mental  fabric — 
the  individual  mind — holds  an  external  relation  with  the 
brain  analogous  somewhat  to  that  which  the  electrodes 
themselves  sustain  to  it;  and  that  as  in  telegraphy 
many  unlike  messages  pass  over  the  same  wire,  so  over 
one  brain  mass  of  nerve  wires  are  discharged  innumer- 
able dissimilar  forms  and  measures  of  mental  impulses 
from  its  similarly  adjacent  mental  operator. 

It  is,  also,  to  be  still  further  noted  from  these  cita- 
tions of  facts  that  this  mind  is  a  unit  of  parts  or  func- 
tions and  therefore  exists  in  some  manner  of  form  and 
embodiment  in  this  adjacent  and  separate  relation,  as 
the  ideas  and  resolutions  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
brain  are  fully  formed  and  energized  before  being  pre- 
cipitated on  the  cell  and  nerve  arrangement.     And  it 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOK  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.  239 

comes  to  be  seen  again  from  this  point  of  view  that  the 
mind,  as  such — on  its  own  part — exists  and  does  its 
work  without  a  physical  brain  at  all — ^that  for  ideation 
it  has  not  even  recourse  to  the  much  talked  about  gray 
matter.  It  is  as  the  operator  who  first  executes  the  idea 
and  the  purpose  to  do  so  within  himself,  before  rattling 
it  off  on  the  wires ! 

This  same  principle  is  still  further  illustrated  in  the 
fact  that  this  individual  mind  is  capable  of  sending  the 
same  mental  dispatch — the  same  purpose  to  be  effected 
— over  various  and  dissimilar  departments  of  nerve  wire. 
If  one  set  of  these  wires  is  down,  pre-occupied,  or  from 
other  cause  unavailable,  it  dispatches  over  another  set. 
For  example,  when  an  object  is  to  be  removed  the  mental 
impulse  will  descend  upon  the  group  affecting  the  hand, 
but  if  the  hand  is  not  at  liberty  the  mind  changes  the  im- 
pellent force  over  to  the  group  affecting  the  foot,  perhaps ; 
and  soon.  However,  the  idea — the  message  or  pur- 
pose in  the  transaction — is  identically  the  same,  by  which- 
ever member  accomplished, — over  whichever  nerve  wires 
transmitted.  Hence,  neither  is  the  operator  nor  the  ideay 
that  are  witnessed  in  the  rational  transaction,  identified 
with  the  organism,  nor  dependent  on  it  more  than  for  a 
means  of  transaction. 

Similar  to  this  is  that  often  seen  in  cases  of  approach- 
ing death,  where  the  vital  machinery  is  so  depleted 
by  the  erosions  and  waste  of  disease  as  to  be  wholly 
unserviceable  to  the  restorative  vital  forces,  where 
deep  lesions  and  extensive  paralysis  with  confusion  of 
interfallen  fiber  incident  to  the  collapse  of  the  mass. 


240  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

have  necessarily  taken  place,  the  whole  mind — the  com- 
plete sentient  self  with  all  the  sweet  thoughtful  affec- 
tions re-appears  in  the  countenance  and  on  the  lisping 
tongue.  The  fact  is  so  common  as  to  be  not  at  all 
wonderful.  It  has  often  been  remarked  upon  in  cases 
of  chronic  insanity — where  brain  lesions  have  remained 
incurable.  In  these  cases  the  recurrence  to  the  normal 
state  is  not  so  gradual  as  to  denote  the  restoration  of 
the  organism  to  wholeness  and  health,  but  compara- 
tively instantaneous.  It  is  Self  re-appearing  above  the 
wreck,  independent  of  breaks  and  wide  disconnections  of 
its  former  channels,  seizing,  independently  of  these,  the 
remote  centers  directly  and  re-erecting  them  for  this 
moment's  use  in  the  transmission  of  a  greeting  by  the 
same  loved  one  from  practically  beyond  the  tomb. 

And,  here  it  is  to  be  further  noted,  as  a  matter  of 
stni  further  interest  to  the  subject,  that  this  recurrence 
to  consciousness  and  to  sentience  cannot  be  entirely  the 
result  of  vital  reaction,  from  the  fact  that  such  a  re- 
action is  dependent  on  unbroken  tissue.  Eeactions  are 
the  repairing  forces,  and  do  not  thus  suddenly  rebuild 
or  span  over  breaks.  The  marvelous  fact  is  more  read- 
ily understood  by  considering  that  it  is  from  a  mental 
effort,  more  or  less  intense,  made  by  the  departing  self, 
favored  by  the  reactive  flow  of  the  vital  forces  in  the 
parts  actuated.  Similar  impulses  of  mental  force  are 
on  other  occasions  seen  to  be  more  or  less  effective  in 
overcoming  physical  dormancies,  as  in  some  forms  of 
alarming  dreams  wherein  we  remember  having  strug- 
gled immensely  to  regain  control  of  our  physical  powers. 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         241 

And  when  it  was  regained  it  was,  at  times,  with  such 
force  as  to  cause  a  smart  rebound  of  the  body. 

In  cases  of  catalepsy  the  same  fact  is  at  times  illus- 
trated. A  somewhat  remarkable  case  of  this  character 
has  been  reported  from  Newark,  N.  J.,  of  a  young  lady 
of  that  place  in  November,  1880.  During  her  cataleptic 
trance  of  five  weeks,  she  was  without  the  power  of  rec- 
ognizing or  speaking.  She  lay  painless  and  quiet,  with 
little  movement  save  "  a  slow  twitching  of  the  eyelids. " 
"  The  severest  electric  shocks  caused  not  even  the  twitch 
of  a  muscle.  On  her  recovery,  she  stated  that  she  had 
been  conscious,  but  had  but  the  one  thought — the  ter- 
rible one  that  her  physicians  might  pronounce  her  dead 
and  she  be  buried  alive !  "  The  agonizing  thought  could 
not  have  been  without  the  greatest  volitional  effort. 
But  "  in  vain  did  she  try  to  speak.  She  could  not  move 
her  lips. "  Without  avail  did  the  operator  in  her  com- 
plete Self  hammer  the  keys  of  the  fallen  wires  to  send 
out  the  infinitely  important  message  that  life  was  not 
yet  departed  and  might  be  recalled  to  external  con- 
sciousness. This,  then,  may  indicate  the  straining  effort 
by  which  the  mental  force,  under  such  intense  solicitude^ 
may  over-leap  the  breaks  in  nerves,  or  immediately 
seize  upon  the  more  external  centers  themselves  and 
actuate  the  organs  of  sense  or  of  sight,  hearing  and 
speech  for  the  brief  moment's  parting  salutation. 

And  when  now  we  thus  see  that  when  the  organism 
is  so  extensively  broken  down  and  so  much  of  it  actually 
carried  away  wholly  beyond  the  bodily  limits,  without 
detriment  to  the  wholeness  of  this  sentient  Self,  is  it 

16 


242  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

not  sufficiently  apparent  that  the  accomplishment  of  the 
little  remaining  work  of  decomposition — separation  or 
death — of  the  body  will  likewise  be  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence to  the  individual's  survival  in  this  same  complete- 
ness ?  We  note  that  up  to  this  state  of  the  procedure,  dis- 
organization has  had  only  the  effect  to  liberate  the  Self 
without  in  any  respect  having  diminished  or  disqualified 
it.  So,  while  the  remaining  shreds  of  organization  by 
which  its  slight  adherence  to  the  external  state  are  con- 
tinued, are  hut  the  same  in  nature  and  character  as  the 
ones  destroyed,  the  further  progress  and  the  final  end 
of  the  work  of  death  would  be  only  of  like  effect — its 
further  liberation  and  finally  entire  separation  from  the 
body,  and  the  beginning  of  the  career  that  awaits  it 
in  the  region  beyond. 

Dr.  Beale,  in  seeing  the  force  of  this  same  class  of 
facts  that  I  have  here  adduced,  has  very  properly  sub- 
mitted from  his  first-class  eminence  as  a  physiologist, 
the  challenge  to  mineralists :  "  Since  all  forms  of  vital 
power  are  transferable,  is  it  not  going  farther  than  is 
warranted  by  reason  to  affirm,  that  no  vital  power  can, 
under  any  circumstances,  be  freed  from  the  material, 
and  yet  be?" 

DREAMS   AND    SOMNAMBULISM. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  evidence  of  yet  another 
class  of  facts — facts  that  are  incidental  to  dreams  and 
somnambulism  or  sleep-walking.  In  sleep,  while  the 
brain  is  much  less  active,  the  mind  is  known  to  be  at 
times  more  efficient  than  in  waking.     In  such  cases  the 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         243 

strongest  and  most  accurate  thinking  transpires  with 
little  or  no  use  of  the  brain ;  harmonizing  with  what 
has  already  been  observed,  that  the  conception  of  the 
thought  and  the  impulse  to  its  execution  take  place  apart 
from  the  brain  and  prior  to  being  delivered  upon  it. 
Indeed,  there  is  no  necessity  of  seeing  that  aU  thoughts 
go  to  the  brain;  but  that  even  of  the  greatest,  some 
may  never  appear  upon  that  organ  at  all.  While  of 
some  only  the  remembrance  of  them  goes  to  the  brain. 
Miss  H.  Martineau,  of  England,  reports  the  case  "  of  a 
congenital  idiot  who  had  lost  his  mother  when  he  was 
under  two  years  old,  and  who  could  not  have  subse- 
quently been  made  cognizant  of  anything  relating  to 
her ;  and  who  yet  when  dying  at  the  age  of  thirty,  sud- 
denly turned  his  head,  looked  bright  and  sensible,  and 
exclaimed  in  a  tone  never  heard  from  him  before,  *  Oh, 
my  mother !  how  beautiful ! '  and  sunk  round  again — 
dead"  (Household  Words,  vol.  9,  p.  200).  The  case  is 
cited  by  Prof.  Carpenter  in  his  Mental  Physiology,  and 
seems  to  show  conclusively  that  the  mind  underwent 
enlargement  without  the  ordinary  use  of  the  brain, — ^thafc 
mind  may  have  resources  of  development  from  a  state 
unconnected  with  the  brain. 

In  the  case  of  this  idiot,  there  occurred  the  moment- 
ary, unmistakable  manifestation  of  a  measure  of  ap- 
preciation and  affection  that  is  inseparable  from  a  state 
of  lucid  reason,  though  without  a  corresponding  brain, 
and  is  conclusive  proof  that  the  movements  and  con- 
ceptions, and,  hence,  enlargements  of  mind  may  take 
place  with  little  or  no  regard  to  a  brain  substance.    The 


244  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

enlargement  in  this  example  took  place  while  on  the 
dream  side  of  his  life — while  the  dwarfed,  defective 
brain,  with  its  darkening  and  disordering  reactions  on 
the  mind,  was  harmlessly  down  in  sleep. 

Instances  of  extraordinary  mental  achievements  dur- 
ing sleep,  are  of  quite  frequent  occurrence.  A  few  well 
authenticated  examples  will  illustrate.  On  the  authority 
of  Prof.  Wm.  B.  Carpenter,  I  here  insert  a  narrative  by 
the  Eev.  John  de  Liefde,  taken  from  the  experience  of 
a  fellow  clergyman.  The  clergyman  was,  at  the  time 
referred  to,  a  student  of  mathematics  in  the  Mennonite 
Seminary  of  Amsterdam,  under  Prof.  Yon  Swinden.  A 
banking-house  had  given  the  professor  a  severe  problem 
requiring  very  skillful  figuring,  upon  which  he  had  al- 
ready made  some  unsuccessful  attempts.  Finally  he 
selected  from  his  students  a  number  to  whom  he  in  turn 
submitted  it,  one  of  whom  was  this  young  student  him- 
self, who  says : 

"  My  ambition  did  not  allow  me  any  delay.  I  set  to 
work  the  same  evening,  but  without  success.  Another 
evening  was  sacrificed  to  my  undertaking,  but  fruitlessly. 
At  last  I  bent  myself  over  my  figures  for  the  third  even- 
ing. It  was  winter  and  I  calculated  till  half-past  one 
in  the  morning — all  to  no  purpose !  The  product  was 
erroneous.  Low  at  heart,  I  threw  down  my  pencil, 
which  already  by  that  time  had  beciphered  three  slates. 
I  hesitated  whether  I  would  toil  the  night  through,  and 
begin  my  calculation  anew;  as  I  knew  the  professor 
wanted  an  answer  the  very  same  morning.  But,  lo! 
my  candle  was  already  burning  in  the  socket ;  and,  also, 
the  persons  with  whom  I  lived  had  long  gone  to  rest. 


THE  AKGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         245 

Then  I  also  went  to  bed ;  my  head  filled  with  ciphers ; 
and  tired  in  mind,  I  fell  asleep.  In  the  morning,  I 
awoke  just  early  enough  to  dress  and  prepare  myself  to 
go  to  the  lecture ;  vexed  at  heart  at  not  having  been 
able  to  solve  the  question  and  at  having  to  disappoint  my 
teacher.  But,  0  wonder!  as  I  approach  my  writing 
table,  I  find  on  it  a  paper,  with  figures  in  my  own  hand, 
and  (think  of  my  astonishment !)  the  whole  problem 
upon  it  solved  quite  aright,  and  without  a  single  blunder. 
I  wanted  to  ask  my  hospita  whether  any  one  had  been 
in  my  room ;  but  was  stopped  by  my  own  writing.     * 

*  *  Thus  I  must  have  calculated  the  problem  in 
my  sleep,  and  in  the  dark  to  boot ;  and  what  is  most 
remarkable,  the  computation  was  so  succinct,  that  what 
I  saw  now  before  me  on  a  single  folio  sheet  had  required 
three  slatefuls  closely  beciphered  on  both  sides  during 
my  waking  state.  Prof.  Von  Swinden  was  quite  amazed 
at  the  event,  and  declared  to  me  that  whilst  calculating 
the  problem  himself,  he  had  never  once  thought  of  a 
solution  so  simple  and  concise  "  (Mental  Phys.,  pp.  593, 
694). 

Of  the  same  class  of  phenomena  is  a  circumstance 
referred  to  by  Prof.  Haven  in  his  Mental  Philosophy. 
Speaking  of  a  school  for  young  ladies  where  a  prize 
had  been  offered  for  the  best  paintings,  he  says : 

"  Among  the  competitors  was  a  young  and  timid  girl, 
who  was  conscious  of  her  inferiority  in  the  art,  yet 
strongly  desirous  of  success.  For  a  time,  she  was 
quite  dissatisfied  with  the  progress  of  her  work ;  but  by 
and  by  began  to  notice  as  she  resumed  her  pencil  in  the 
morning  that  something  had  been  added  to  the  work 


246  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

since  she  last  touched  it.  *  *  *  The  additions  were 
evidently  by  a  superior  hand,  far  excelling  her  own  in 
skill  and  workmanship.  Her  companions  denied,  each 
and  severally,  all  knowledge  of  the  matter.  She  placed 
articles  of  furniture  against  her  door  in  such  a  way 
that  any  one  entering  would  be  sure  to  awaken  her. 
They  were  undisturbed ;  but  still  the  mysterious  addi- 
tions continued  to  be  made.  At  last  her  companions 
concluded  to  watch  without  and  make  sure  that  no  one 
entered  her  apartment  during  the  night ;  but  still  the 
work  went  on.  At  length  it  occurred  to  them  to  watch 
her  movements ;  and  liow  the  mystery  was  explained. 
They  saw  her,  evidently  in  sound  sleep,  rise,  dress,  take 
her  place  at  the  table,  and  commence  her  work.  It  was 
her  own  hand  that,  unconsciously  to  herself,  had  exe- 
cuted the  work  in  a  style  which  in  her  waking  moments 
she  could  not  approach,  and  which  quite  surpassed  all 
competition. " 

Another  case,  similar  in  character,  is  taken  from  Dr. 
Abercrombie,  who  relates  respecting  an  eminent  lawyer 
of  Scotland,  who  had  been  consulted  in  respect  to  a 
case  of  much  importance  and  of  great  difficulty, — that 
he  had  been  studying  it  with  intense  interest  and  appli- 
cation.    The  doctor  goes  on  to  say : 

"  After  several  days  had  been  occupied  in  this  man- 
ner, he  was  observed  by  his  wife  to  rise  from  his  bed  in 
the  night  and  go  to  a  writing-desk  which  stood  in  the 
bedroom.  He  then  sat  down  and  wrote  a  long  paper 
which  he  carefully  put  in  his  desk,  and  returned  to  bed. 
The  following  morning  he  told  his  wife  that  he  had  had 
a  most  interesting  dream ; — that  he  had  dreamt  of  de- 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         247 

livering  a  clear  and  luminous  opinion  respecting  a  case 
which  had  exceedingly  perplexed  him;  and  that  he 
would  give  any  thing  to  recover  the  train  of  thought 
which  had  passed  before  him  in  his  dream.  She  then 
directed  him  to  the  writing-desk,  where  he  found  the 
opinion  clearly  and  fully  written  out;  and  this  was 
afterward  found  to  be  perfectly  correct "  (Intellectual 
Powers,  5th  Ed.,  p.  306). 

Dr.  Hammond  seeks  to  parry  the  force  of  this  exam- 
ple by  suggesting  that  the  man  must  have  been  awake 
while  executing  the  work — that  waking  transactions  are, 
at  times,  recalled  as  having  been  dreams.  But  the  ex- 
ample he  submits  is  not  at  all  a  parallel  case.  One, 
truly,  may  passively  view  a  fire  or  hear  a  story  told  and 
in  time  recalling  it,  be  uncertain  as  to  whether  it  was 
a  real  transaction  or  only  a  dream.  But  hardly  so  of 
a  matter  of  such  deliberate  straining  effort,  wherein  the 
co-ordinations  of  the  surrounding  state — determining 
whether  one  was  waking  or  sleeping — become  most 
definitely  impressed. 

He  remembered  the  great  lucid  effort  as  co-ordinating 
with  the  dreaming  state,  and  the  equally  laborious,  but 
less  successful,  as  with  the  waking  state.  And  in  no  case 
imaginable  is  memory  more  worthy  of  entire  reliance. 

These  cases  are  somnambulistic  dreams.  They  are 
"  acted  dreams, "  as  Prof.  Carpenter  rightly  denominates 
somnambulisms.  In  dreams  of  this  character,  the 
mind  attains  control  of  some  of  the  nerves  of  motion, 
and  at  times,  to  some  extent,  also,  those  of  the  senses ; 
and  but  for  this  last  stated  means  of  external  manifes- 


248  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

tation  and  record  of  the  passing  thought,  if  recalled  at 
all,  it  would  be  recalled  as  merely  a  dream.  But  som- 
nambulists more  commonly  remember  nothing  of  their 
somnambulic  transactions, — not  even  recalling  that  they 
have  dreamed  correspondingly  with  the  acts  alleged  of 
them  in  that  state,  or  dreamed  at  all.  So,  but  for  the 
matter  of  mere  accident,  in  these  examples,  their  most 
successful  thinking — their  strongest  and  most  sane 
achievements  of  mind,  would  in  the  one  case  have  been 
vaguely  recalled  as  only  a  dream ;  and  in  the  other  two, 
the  artist  girl  and  the  young  mathematician,  not  even  the 
hint  from  a  dream  thereof  remained  to  them  of  their 
mind's  successful  work  in  the  dream-land.  Nothing  re- 
specting themselves,  for  that  time,  could  have  been 
known  but  that  they  had  been  pursuing  common  sleep — 
sleep  like  any  other  sleep.  And  what  achievements  of 
like  efficiency  and  sanity  may  not,  then,  have  transpired 
to  these  people  at  other  times,  and  to  other  people  as 
well,  that  have  remained  utterly  unknown  to  the  waking 
side  ?  And  who  with  these  facts  before  him  shall  say 
that  such  is  not  more  or  less  common  to  human  life  all 
the  time  ? 

Grotesque  as  ordinary  dreams  represent  its  move- 
ments to  have  been,  there  are  thus  instances  that  show 
consistent,  connected  and  systematic  thinking  to  have 
been  pursued  by  the  mind  during  sleep.  And  because 
the  more  perfect  of  these  are  commonly  not  recalled 
after  waking,  but  are  known  by  having  been  somnam- 
bulistically  acted  out,  we  are  led  to  see  that  the  more 
sane  transactions  of  mind  in  the  sleeping  state  take 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         249 

place  when  the  sleep  is  the  most  complete!  This,  also, 
is  assured  by  the  fact  that  in  the  waking  state  the  ap- 
prehending powers  of  the  mind  are,  according  to  the  ex- 
tent of  the  waking,  diverted  and  employed  by  the  brain 
forces,  objectively  upon  the  external  or  waking  facts ; 
which,  in  their  glaring  realness  to  the  open  senses,  nec- 
essarily obscure  the  impressions  of  past  mental  move- 
ments in  proportion  that  they  have  been  less  connected 
with  the  brain.  Hence,  the  deepest  dreams,  ordinarily, 
are  most  forgotten.  Besides  a  state  of  partial  or  di- 
vided consciousness  is  necessarily  incompatible  with 
clear  thought.  And  so  the  most  grotesque  dreams  are 
best  remembered. 

And  from  this  it  would  also  be  quite  natural  to  infer 
that  when  sleep  again  ensued,  the  mind  might  recover 
the  forgotten  transaction  and  possibly  proceed  again  in 
respect  to  it,  taking  up  the  thread  of  the  previous 
dream,  specially  so  if  the  sleep  were  of  the  same  de- 
gree of  soundness. 

And  here,  too,  there  are  corroborations  at  hand. 
Prof.  Hamilton,  who  says,  "whether  we  recollect  our 
dreams  or  not,  we  always  dream, "  states  touching  this 
principle,  "  I  have  always  observed  that  when  suddenly 
awakening  from  sleep  (and  to  ascertain  the  fact  I  have 
caused  myself  to  be  roused  at  different  seasons  of  the 
night)  I  have  always  been  enabled  to  observe  that  I 
was  always  in  the  middle  of  a  dream  "  (Metaphysics, 
p.  225).  Only  part  of  the  mind's  transaction  in  that 
state  was  he  able  to  recall.  But  what  he  recalled  was 
in  BUch/or77i  as  to  enable  him  to  know  that  where  it  was 


250  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

discontinued  to  his  memory,  was  only  where  it  went 
under  cover  of  some  obscuring  circumstance,  and  was 
not  the  beginning  nor  ending  thereof.  This  is  a  very 
common  fact  in  respect  to  dreams. 

Then,  again,  there  occur  what  seem  to  be  "serial 
dreams. "  Those  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  taking 
account  of  their  dreams  have  at  times  noted  this  pecul- 
iarity, that  the  mind  in  its  wanderings  has  undergone 
a  quite  sensible  reaction  as  of  the  surprise  of  suddenly 
arriving  upon  a  matter  of  thought  previously  engaged 
upon,  or  upon  a  scenic  display — a  landscape  or  city, 
possibly — previously  looked  upon,  and  having  an  as- 
pect of  great  familiarity,  and  yet  in  the  waking  state 
be  able  to  recall  of  it  little  or  nothing  but  the  fact  of  a 
strong  impression  of  that  character  having  taken  place. 
That  such  recoveries  of  prior  trains  of  thought  and 
scenic  pictures,  after  the  lapse  of  a  period  of  waking, 
are  matters  of  fact,  is  frequently  shown  in  the  transac- 
tions of  somnambulists,  of  which  a  case  given  by  Prof. 
Carpenter  will  serve  to  illustrate ;  though  he  cites  it 
for  a  different  purpose.  The  subject  was  a  young  lady 
of  very  sensitive  organization  and  who  had  undergone 
a  long  and  severe  illness.  Her  illusion  was  in  respect 
to  an  only  brother  who  had  died  some  years  before.  In 
her  somnambulistic  dreams  she  saw  him  and  conversed 
with  him,  evincing  the  deepest  emotions  with  extrava- 
gant forms  of  speech.     On  one  occasion,  he  observes: 

"It  happened  that  when  she  passed  into  this  con- 
dition, her  sister,  who  was  present,  was  wearing  a 
locket  containing  some  of  their  deceased  brother's  hair. 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOK  THE  AFFIKMATIVE.         251 

As  soon  as  she  perceived  this  locket,  she  made  a  vio- 
lent snatch  at  it,  and  would  not  be  satisfied  until  she 
got  it  into  her  possession,  when  she  began  to  talk  to  it 
in  the  most  endearing  and  extravagant  terms.  Her  feelings 
were  so  strongly  excited  on  this  subject,  that  it  was  judged 
prudent  to  check  them ;  and  as  she  was  inaccessible  to  all 
entreaties  for  the  relinquishment  of  the  locket,  force 
was  employed  to  obtain  it  from  her.  She  was  so  deter- 
mined, however,  not  to  give  it  up,  and  was  so  angry  at 
the  gentle  violence  used  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
abandon  the  attempt ;  and  having  become  calmer,  after 
a  time,  she  passed  off  into  ordinary  sleep.  Before  going 
to  sleep,  however,  she  placed  the  locket  under  her  pillow, 
remarking,  'Now  I  have  hid  it  safely,  and  they  shall  not 
take  it  from  me.'  On  awaking  in  the  morning,  she  had 
not  the  slightest  consciousness  of  what  had  passed, 
but  the  impression  of  the  excited  feelings  still  remained, 
for  she  remarked  to  her  sister,  '  I  cannot  tell  what  it  is 
that  makes  me  feel  so ;  but  every  time  that  S —  comes 
near  me  I  have  a  kind  of  shuddering  sensation,'  the  in- 
dividual named  being  a  servant  whose  constant  attention 
to  her  had  given  rise  to  a  feeling  of  strong  attachment 
on  the  side  of  the  invalid,  but  who  had  been  the  chief 
actor  in  the  scene  of  the  previous  evening.  This  feel- 
ing wore  off  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two. 

"A  few  days  afterward,  the  somnambulism  again  re- 
curred; and  the  patient,  being  upon  the  bed  at  the 
time,  immediately  began  to  search  for  the  locket  under 
her  pillow.  In  consequence  of  its  having  been  removed 
in  the  interval  (in  order  that  she  might  not,  by  accident- 
ally finding  it  there,  be  led  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of 
its  presence,  of  which  it  was  thought  better  to  keep  her 
in  ignorance)  she  was  unable  to  find  it ;  at  which  she 


252  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

expressed  great  disappointment,  and  continued  search- 
ing for  it,  with  the  remark,  *  It  must  be  there ;  I  put  it 
there  a  few  minutes  ago,  and  no  one  can  have  taken  it 
away'  "  (Mental  Phys.,  pp.  597,  698). 

Though  here  on  waking  there  was  no  remembrance 
of  what  had  thus  transpired — not  even  of  the  careful 
hiding  of  the  locket,  when  she  re-entered  the  deep 
somnambulistic  sleep,  immediately  the  same  train  of 
thought  and  the  same  feelings  and  scenes,  were  recurred 
to  and  entered  upon  as  if  they  had  taken  place  but  the 
previous  moment,  though  several  days  of  waking  had 
intervened ;  giving  evidence  that  not  alone  is  the  mind 
in  that  state  capable,  spasmodically,  of  individual  un- 
connected efforts,  but  of  serial,  systematic  chains  of 
thought,  though  broken  in  upon  and  sundered  by  the 
diverting  power  of  the  waking  state. 

We  have  room  for  only  a  few,  but  citations  of  exam- 
ples of  the  above  character  from  the  most  unquestion- 
able authorities,  might  be  indefinitely  prolonged,  si 
have  referred  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  showing  what 
the  mind  can  do  with  little  or  no  relation  with  the  brain. 

STATE    OF   THE    BRAIN   DURING    SLEEP. 

In  sleep  the  brain  reposes — is  to  a  large  extent  or 
wholly  without  activity  and  the  use  of  its  function.  "  In 
profound  ordinary  sleep,  the  cerebrum  with  the  sensory 
ganglia,  is  in  a  state  of  complete  functional  inactivity" 
(Carpenter's  Phys.,  p.  610).  Experiments  invariably 
show  the  brain  in  a  state  of  sleep  to  have  receded  from 
the  cranium  and  to  have  assumed  a  state  of  compara- 


THE  AKGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         253 

tive  rest.  Blumenbach  and  Dendy,  severally  referred  to 
by  Dr.  Hammond,  Ex- Surgeon  General,  U.  S.  Army, 
report  cases  in  illustration  of  this  fact.  The  former  re- 
ports an  instance  of  a  young  man  having  fallen  and 
fractured  his  skull  on  the  right  side  of  the  coronal 
suture.  "After  recovery  took  place  a  hiatus  re- 
mained, covered  only  by  the  integument.  While  the 
young  man  was  awake  this  chasm  was  quite  superficial, 
but  as  soon  as  sleep  ensued  it  became  very  deep.  The 
change  was  due  to  the  fact  that  during  sleep  the  brain 
was  in  a  collapsed  condition"  (Sleep  and  its  Derange- 
ments, p.  30).  The  latter  "  states  that  there  was,  in 
1821,  at  Montpellier,  a  woman  who  had  lost  part  of 
her  skull,  and  the  brain  and  its  membranes  lay  bare. 
When  she  was  in  deep  sleep  the  brain  remained  motion- 
less beneath  the  crest  of  the  cranial  bones ;  when  she 
was  dreaming,  it  became  somewhat  elevated ;  and  when 
she  was  awake  it  was  protruded  through  the  fissures  of 
the  skuU"  (ibid). 

Dr.  Hammond  has  pursued  this  investigation  on  his 
own  part  by  performing  numerous  operations  on  lower 
animals,  finding  always  that  during  sleep  the  brain  in 
like  manner  receded,  and  rose  again  upon  waking.  He 
observes,  giving  the  process  in  full : 

"  Since  the  chapter  on  the  Physiology  of  Sleep  was 
written,  I  have,  by  additional  experiments,  satisfied  my- 
self that  the  theory  then  enunciated  is  correct  in  every 
particular. 

"  By  means  of  an  instrument  adapted  to  show  the  ex- 
tent of  cerebral  pressure,  and  which  I  first  described 


254  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

nearly  two  years  ago,  I  have  been  enabled  to  arrive  at 
very  positive  results.  In  every  instance  the  pressure 
was  lessened  during  sleep  and  was  increased  during 
wakefulness.  The  experiments  were  performed  upon 
dogs  and  rabbits.  Briefly,  the  instrument  consists  of  a 
brass  tube,  which  is  screwed  into  a  round  hole  made  in 
the  skull  by  a  trephine.  Both  ends  of  this  tube  are 
open,  but  into  the  upper  is  screwed  another  brass  tube, 
the  lower  end  of  which  is  closed  by  a  piece  of  very  thin 
sheet  of  India  rubber,  and  the  upper  end  with  a  brass 
cap,  into  which  is  fastened  a  glass  tube.  This  inner 
arrangement  contains  colored  water,  and  to  the  glass 
tube  a  scale  is  affixed. 

"  This  second  brass  tube  is  screwed  into  the  first,  till 
the  thin  rubber  presses  upon  the  dura  mater  and  the 
level  of  the  colored  water  stands  at  0,  which  is  the  mid- 
dle of  the  scale.  Now,  when  the  animal  goes  to  sleep, 
the  liquid  falls  in  the  tube,  showing  that  the  cerebral 
pressure  has  been  diminished, — an  event  which  can  only 
take  place  in  consequence  of  a  reduction  of  the  quan- 
tity of  blood  circulating  through  the  brain.  As  soon  as 
the  animal  awakes,  the  liquid  arises  at  once.  Nothing 
can  exceed  the  conclusiveness  of  experiments  of  this 
character.  No  mere  theorizing  can  avail  against  them" 
(pp.  317,  318).  Trephining  the  skull  and  rendering  a 
section  of  the  brain  bare  to  view,  is  so  simple  and  con- 
venient a  way  of  observing  this  phenomena  that  the  ex- 
periments are  quite  common. 

He  attributes  this  collapsing  of  the  brain  to  the  with- 
drawal of  the  circulation.  Others  are  in  doubt  whether 
it  is  not  the  reverse.  It,  indeed,  is  more  probable  that 
the  brain  ceasing,  from  some  other  cause,  to  act  and  to 


THE  AEGUMENT  FOK  THE  AFFIKMATIVE.         255 

require  this  nourishment,  is  why,  in  natural  sleep,  it  is 
discontinued.  The  blood  is  only  the  repair  material. 
It  is  not  the  repairer.  It  delivers  its  freight  only  to  the 
bioplasts.  From  thence  the  cell  building  force  takes 
and  applies  it.  However,  as  also  without  the  building 
material  the  artisan  must  stop,  the  interception  of  the 
circulation  would  cause  a  coUapse.  Certain  it  is  that 
brain  without  blood  would  be  deprived  of  its  function. 
And  this  is  the  state  of  the  brain  when  in  natural  sleep. 
What  he  observed  of  it  when  in  this  collapsed  state 
during  sleep,  was  that  it  was  bloodless.  Eef erring  to 
an  experiment  made  by  him  in  1860,  he  says : 

"  A  medium-sized  dog  was  trephined  over  the  left  pa- 
rietal bone,  close  to  the  sagittal  suture,  ha\dng  previously 
been  placed  under  the  full  anaesthetic  influence  of  ether. 
The  opening  made  by  the  trephine  was  enlarged  with  a 
pair  of  strong  bone-forceps,  so  as  to  expose  the  dura 
mater  to  the  extent  of  a  full  square  inch.  The  mem- 
brane was  then  cut  away  and  the  brain  brought  to  view. 
It  was  sunk  below  the  inner  surface  of  the  skull,  and 
but  few  vessels  were  visible.  Those  which  could  be  per- 
ceived, however,  evidently  conveyed  dark  blood,  and  the 
whole  exposed  surface  of  the  brain  was  of  a  purple 
color.  As  the  anaesthetic  influence  passed  off  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood  in  the  brain  became  more  active. 
The  purple  hue  faded  away,  and  numerous  small  vessels 
filUed  with  red  blood  became  visible;  at  the  same 
time  the  volume  of  the  brain  increased,  and  when 
the  animal  became  fully  aroused,  the  organ  protruded 
through  the  opening  in  the  skull  to  such  an  extent  that, 
at  the  most  prominent  part,  its  surface  was  more  than 


256  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

a  quarter  of  an  inch  above  the  external  surface  of  the 
cranium.  While  the  dog  continued  awake,  the  condition 
and  position  of  the  brain  remained  unchanged.  After 
the  lapse  of  half  an  hour,  sleep  ensued.  While  this  was 
coming  on,  I  watched  the  brain  very  attentively.  Its 
volume  slowly  decreased;  many  of  its  smaller  blood- 
vessels became  invisible,  and  finally  it  was  so  much  con- 
tracted that  its  surface,  pale  and  apparently  deprived  of 
blood,  was  far  below  the  level  of  the  cranial  wall"  (pp. 
38,  39). 

Similar  results  followed  the  experiments  of  Mr. 
Durham,  also  cited  by  Dr.  Hammond,  performed  on  a 
dog  about  the  same  time,  of  which  he  says : 

"  As  the  effects  of  this  agent  (chloroform)  passed  off, 
the  animal  sank  into  a  natural  sleep,  and  then  the  con- 
dition of  the  brain  was  materially  changed.  Its  surface 
became  pale  and  sank  down  below  the  level  of  the  bone ; 
the  veins  ceased  to  be  distended,  and  many  which  had 
been  full  of  dark  blood  could  no  longer  be  distinguished. 
When  the  animal  was  roused,  the  surface  of  the  brain 
became  suffused  with  a  red  blush,  and  it  ascended 
through  the  opening  of  the  skull.  As  the  mental  ex- 
citement increased,  the  brain  became  more  and  more 
turgid  with  blood,  and  innumerable  vessels  sprang  into 
sight.  The  circulation  was  also  increased  in  rapidity. 
After  being  fed,  the  animal  fell  asleep,  and  the  brain 
again  became  contracted  and  pale"  (ibid,  p.  34). 

Dr.  Hughlings  Jackson  examined  the  retina  of  the 
eye,  by  means  of  an  opthalmoscope  with  a  view  to  ob- 
serving its  condition  during  sleep,  and  found  that  it  was 
paler  and  its  arteries  more,  contracted  than  in  the 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         257 

waking  state  (see  Royal  Lond.  Opthalm.  Hos.  Reports). 
This  coating  of  nerve  substance  or  mesh  of  nerve  fila- 
ments, is  quite  the  same  order  of  tissue  as  that  of  the 
optic  ganglion,  of  which,  practically,  it  is  a  continuance, 
and  would  be,  characterized  in  sleep  somewhat  as  the 
brain  is.  And  we  find,  then,  this  examination  of  nerves 
closely  identified  with  the  brain  substance  itself,  by  the 
specially  favorable  circumstance  of  a  transparent  eye 
to  look  through,  down  in  upon  it  in  all  its  quiet  natural- 
ness, revealing  the  same  state  of  facts. 

Thus,  then,  is  the  brain  functionless  in  the  state  of 
profound  sleep.  And  though  absolute  sleep — a  state  of 
entire  inaction  of  the  brain — may  not  occur  in  life,  it  ia 
functionless  to  the  extent  that  sleep  prevails ;  and  to 
the  same  extent  it  is  parted  from  the  m'ind  or  Self ;  like 
as  the  paralyzed  limb  is  parted  from  the  will, — essen- 
tially as  in  death.  Then  what  thinking  in  sleep  trans- 
pires in  the  mind  previously  in  the  waking  state  joined 
with  that  brain,  takes  place,  substantially,  in  the  state 
of  death! 

Thus  have  we  seen  that  of  the  transactions  of  the  mind 
in  sleep,  the  more  efficient  take  place  in  the  deeper 
sleep — in  the  more  extended  inaction  of  the  brain — in 
the  nearest  approach  to  death. 

If,  then,  the  stronger  and  more  sane  thinking  is  posr 
sible  with  less  brain  contact  (and  our  examples  have 
shown  that  in  sleep  mind  has  achieved  successes  beyond 
the  ability  of  its  waking  state),  it  is  plainly  conclusive, 
not  alone  that  thinking  goes  on  after  all  connection 
therewith  is  wholly  sundered,  but  that  in  its  entire  free- 

17 


i:5S  CONSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 

dom  from  it  it  will  attain  to  greater  strength  and  efficiency 
and  wider  range. 

THE     mind's     rapid     MOVEMENT    AND    SOMETIMES    KEEN 
APPREHENSION    DURING    DREAMS. 

In  the  conclusion,  thus  arrived  at,  we  have  an  ex- 
planation, also,  why  in  dreams  the  mind  is  seen  to  ex- 
ecute its  movements  more  rapidly  than  in  waking,  and 
why  at  times  it  displays  such  extraordinary  attainment 
during  sleep.  Prof.  Carpenter  says,  "  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  all  the  peculiarities  in  the  state  of  dream- 
ing, is  the  rapidity  with  which  trains  of  thought  pass 
through  the  mind ;  for  a  dream  in  which  a  long  series 
of  events  has  seemed  to  occur,  and  a  multitude  of  im- 
ages has  been  successively  raised  up,  has  been  often 
certainly  known  to  have  occupied  only  a  few  minutes, 
or  even  seconds,  although  whole  years  may  seem  to  the 
dreamer  to  have  elapsed  "  (Mental  Phys.,  p.  688).  Dr. 
Hammond,  referring  to  the  same  matter,  supplies  an 
incident  from  the  Revue  de  Paris  related  by  Lavalette, 
as  occurring  to  him  while  in  prison: 

"  One  night,  while  I  was  asleep,  the  clock  of  the  Pal- 
ais de  Justice  struck  twelve  and  awoke  me.  I  heard 
the  gate  open  to  relieve  the  sentry,  but  I  fell  asleep 
again  immediately.  In  this  sleep  I  dreamt  that  I  was 
standing  in  the  Eue  St.  Honore.  *  *  *  All  of  a 
sudden,  I  perceived  at  the  bottom  of  the  street  and  ad- 
vancing toward  me,  a  troop  of  cavalry, — the  men  and 
horses,  however,  all  flayed.  The  men  held  torches  in 
their  hands,  the  red  flames  of  which  illuminated  faces 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         259 

without  skin,  and  bloody  muscles.  Their  hollow  eyes 
rolled  fearfully  in  their  sockets,  their  mouths  open  from 
ear  to  ear,  and  helmets  of  hanging  flesh  covered  their 
hideous  heads.  The  horses  dragged  along  their  own 
skins  in  the  kennels  which  overflowed  with  blood  on  all 
sides.  Pale  and  disheveled  women  appeared  and  disap- 
peared at  the  windows  in  dismal  silence ;  low,  inarticu- 
late groans  filled  the  air,  and  I  remained  in  the  street 
alone  petrified  with  horror,  and  deprived  of  strength 
sufficient  to  seek  my  safety  in  flight.  This  horrible 
troop  continued  to  pass  along  rapidly  in  a  gallop,  and 
casting  frightful  looks  upon  me.  Their  march  contin- 
ued, I  thought,  for  five  hours,  and  they  were  followed 
by  an  immense  nimiber  of  artillery  wagons  full  of 
bleeding  corpses,  whose  limbs  still  quivered ;  a  disgust- 
ing smell  of  blood  and  bitumen  almost  choked  me. 
At  length  the  iron  gates  of  the  prison,  shutting  with 
great  force,  awoke  me  again.  I  made  my  repeater  strike ; 
it  was  no  more  than  midnight,  so  that  the  horrible 
phantasmagoria  lasted  no  more  than  two  or  three  min- 
utes— that  is  to  say,  the  time  necessary  for  relieving  the 
sentry  and  closing  the  gate.  The  cold  was  severe  and 
the  watchword  short.  The  next  day  the  turnkey  con- 
firmed my  calculations.  I,  nevertheless,  do  not  remem- 
ber any  thing  of  my  life,  the  duration  of  which  I  have 
been  able  more  exactly  to  calculate,  of  which  the  details 
are  deeper  engraven  on  my  memory,  and  of  which  I 
preserve  a  more  perfect  consciousness  "  (Sleep  and  its 
Derangements,  pp.  79,  80). 

Though  the  mind  in  this  instance  must  have  been 
near  the  waking  state,  and  more  hampered  and  distorted 
from  brain  influence  than  in  deeper  sleep,  it  yet  detailed 


260  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

this  series  of  impressions  in  a  few  minutes  that  would 
have  required  hours  in  the  waking  state. 

So,  also,  there  sometimes  occur  certain  forms  of  ex- 
traordinary attainment, — of  language  speaking,  and 
music  rendering,  etc.,  developed  in  trance  and  hypnotic 
or  mesmeric  subjects,  exciting  great  astonishment,  and 
often  rendering  a  resort  to  spiritualistic  theories  of  in- 
terpretations the  only  way  out.  A  case  of  this  character 
is  also  referred  to  by  Prof.  Carpenter,  who  relates  it  as 
follows : 

"  When  Jenny  Lind  was  singing  in  Manchester,  she 
was  invited  by  Mr.  Braid  to  hear  the  performance  of 
one  of  his  hypnotized  subjects,  an  illiterate  factory  girl, 
who  had  an  excellent  voice  and  ear,  but  whose  musical 
powers  had  received  scarcely  any  cultivation.  This 
girl  in  the  hypnotic  state  followed  the  Swedish  nightin- 
gale's songs  in  different  languages  both  instantaneously 
and  correctly ;  and  when  in  order  to  test  her  powers, 
Mdlle.  Lind  extemporized  a  long  and  elaborate  chro- 
matic exercise,  she  imitated  this  with  no  less  precision, 
though  unable  in  her  waking  state  even  to  attempt  any- 
thing of  the  sort.  *  She  caught  the  sounds  so  promptly,' 
says  Mr.  Braid,  *  and  gave  both  words  and  music  so  sim- 
ultaneously and  correctly,  that  several  persons  present 
could  not  discriminate  whether  there  were  two  voices  or 
only  one'  "  (Mesmerism,  Spiritualism,  etc.,  pp.  19,  20). 

In  this  case  the  rapidity  of  mental  activity  during 
sleep  is  also  very  forcibly  exemplified.  Scarcely  a  per- 
ceptible interval  of  time  transpired  between  Miss  Lind's 
utterances  and  their  repetition  by  the  girl.  Besides  there 
is  seen  to  have  been  a  corresponding  and  surpassing 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         261 

activity  of  the  apprehending  powers  necessary  to  a 
proper  vocalization  of  both  the  music  and  the  unknown 
tongue;  all  evincing  an  accomplishment  that  in  the 
waking  state  might  have  required  years  of  laborious 
training.  We  are  not  to  understand  by  the  facts  here 
given  that  the  hypnotized  subject  at  the  time  rational- 
ized the  music  or  the  language. 

Still  another  example  of  this  class  of  facts,  though 
referring  to  a  different  phase  of  mental  activity,  is 
cited  by  Dr.  Hammond  as  having  occurred  in  the  course 
of  his  practice.     He  says : 

"  A  young  girl,  recently  under  my  professional  care, 
was  cataleptic  on  an  average  once  a  week,  and  epileptic 
twice  or  three  times  in  the  intervals.  Five  years  pre- 
viously she  had  spent  six  months  in  France,  but  had 
not  acquired  more  than  a  very  slight  knowledge  of  the 
language,  scarcely,  in  fact,  sufficient  to  enable  her  to  ask 
for  what  she  wanted  at  her  meals.  Immediately  before 
her  cataleptic  seizure,  she  went  into  a  state  of  ecstacy, 
during  which  she  recited  poetry  in  French,  and  deliv- 
ered harangues  about  virtue  and  godliness  in  the  same 
language.  She  pronounced  at  these  times  exceedingly 
well,  and  seemed  never  at  a  loss  for  a  word.  To  all 
surrounding  influences  she  was  apparently  dead.  But 
she  sat  bolt  upright  in  her  chair,  her  eyes  staring  at 
vacancy,  and  her  organs  of  speech  in  constant  action. 
Gradually  she  passed  into  the  cataleptic  paroxysm.  She 
was  an  excellent  example  of  what  Mrs.  Hardinge  calls 
a  *  trance  medium.'  The  materialistic  influence  of  bro- 
mide of  potassium,  however,  cured  her  catalepsy  and 
epilepsy,  destroyed  her  knowledge  of  the  French  tongue 


262  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

and  made  her  corporeal  structure  so  gross  that  the 
spirits  refused  to  make  any  further  use  of  it  for  their 
manifestations"  (Nervous  Derangement,  p.  117). 

In  this  case  the  same  imitative  or  repeative  phase  of 
mind  is  joined  with  the  memory  in  its  extraordinary 
activity;  and  that  which  was  at  some  time  a  special 
tax  on  that  faculty,  or  was  from  novelty  or  from  some 
other  occasion  of  interest  peculiarly  impressed,  nat- 
urally became  the  theme  of  this  activity ;  as  is  always 
to  be  expected.  It  is  possible,  though  not  probable,  that 
the  girl  deliberately  conversed  in  French.  The  wonder- 
ful achievement  was  a  feat  of  the  memory  joined  with 
the  reflexive  or  imitative  power. 

A  very  similar  case  is  referred  to  by  Prof.  Hamilton 
in  his  celebrated  Lectures  on  Metaphysics.  It  is  cited 
from  Coleridge : 

"A  young  woman  of  four  or  five  and  twenty,  who 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  was  seized  with  a  nervous 
fever ;  during  which,  according  to  the  asseverations  of 
all  the  priests  and  monks  of  the  neighborhood,  she  became 
possessed,  and,  as  it  appeared,  by  a  very  learned  devil. 
She  continued  incessantly  talking  Latin,  Greek  and  He- 
brew, in  very  pompous  tones,  and  with  most  distinct 
enunciation.  *  *  *  The  case  had  attracted  the 
particular  attention  of  a  young  physician,  and  by  his 
statements  many  eminent  physiologists  and  psychologists 
visited  the  town  and  cross-examined  the  case  on  the 
spot.  Sheets  full  of  her  ravings  were  taken  down  from 
her  own  mouth,  and  were  found  to  consist  of  sentences, 
coherent  and  intelligible  each  for  itself,  but  with  little  or 


THE  AKGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         263 

no  connection  with  each  other.  Of  the  Hebrew,  a  small 
portion  alone  could  be  traced  to  the  Bible,  the  remainder 
seemed  to  be  in  the  rabbinical  dialect.  All  trick  or  con- 
spiracy was  out  of  the  question.  *  *  *  The  young 
physician,  however,  determined  to  trace  her  past  life 
step  by  step ;  for  the  patient  was  incapable  of  returning 
a  rational  answer.  He  at  length  succeeded  in  discover- 
ing the  place  where  her  parents  had  lived;  traveling 
thither,  found  them  dead,  but  an  uncle  surviving ;  and 
from  him  learned  that  the  patient  had  been  charitably 
taken  by  an  old  Protestant  pastor  at  nine  years  old ;  had 
remained  with  him  some  years.  *  *  With  great  diffi- 
culty, and  after  much  search,  our  young  medical  phi- 
losopher discovered  a  niece  of  the  pastor's,  who  lived 
with  him  as  his  housekeeper.  *  *  *  She  remembered 
the  girl.  *  *  Anxious  inquiries  were  then,  of  course, 
made  concerning  the  pastor's  habits ;  and  the  solution 
of  the  phenomenon  was  soon  obtained.  For  it  appeared 
that  it  had  been  the  old  man's  custom,  for  years,  to 
walk  up  and  down  a  passage  of  his  house  into  which 
the  kitchen-door  opened,  and  to  read  to  himself,  with  a 
loud  voice,  out  of  his  favorite  books.  A  considerable 
number  of  these  were  still  in  the  niece's  possession.  * 
*  Among  the  books  were  found  a  collection  of 
the  rabbinical  writings,  together  with  several  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  fathers;  the  physician  succeeded  in 
identifying  so  many  passages  with  those  taken  down  at 
the  young  woman's  bedside,  that  no  doubt  could  remain 
in  any  rational  mind  concerning  the  origin  of  the  im- 
pressions made  on  her  nervous  system  "  (Lectures  on 


264  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Metaphysics,  pp.  239,  240). 

Fortunately,  through  the  sagacity  and  persevering 
energy  of  this  young  physician,  definite  light  is  thrown 
on  this  class  of  phenomena.  Speaking  in  unknown 
languages  in  this  case,  including  good  pronunciation, 
is  clearly  seen  to  have  been  the  work  of  memory, 
joined,  as  in  the  previous  case,  with  the  imitative  fac- 
ulty, and  during  a  state  of  great  activity  and  strength 
of  both.  She  was,  however,  able  to  recall  only  the  pas- 
tor's vocalizations  of  those  tongues  (that  would  naturally 
have  produced  a  very  peculiar  impression  on  her)  in  en- 
tirety so  far  as  to  full  sentences ;  while  the  ecstacy  was 
not  complete  enough  to  properly  bridge  over  the  breaks 
between  sentences  and  take  the  next  in  order. 

Phenomena  of  this  character,  that  have  been  greatly 
puzzling  from  ordinary  standpoints  of  consideration,  be- 
come very  simple  in  the  light  of  the  fact  thus  developed, 
that  mind  in  its  own  sphere  and  relieved  to  its  own  nat- 
ure and  away  from  physical  contact,  is  of  greater  effi- 
ciency in  its  functions.  And  when  Dr.  Hammond,  in 
the  case  of  the  epileptic  French-speaking  girl  referred 
to,  with  sober  good  will  heaves  a  bomb- shell  over  at  the 
spiritualist,  it  turns  out  to  be  a  boomerang.  When  he 
speaks  of  the  bromide  of  potassium  having  cured  her  cat- 
alepsy and  epilepsy,  and  so  destroyed  her  knowledge  of 
the  French  tongue,  he  is  testifying  against  his  own  min- 
eralism  by  submitting  the  fact  that  on  the  restoration  of 
health  the  mind  was  again  subjected  to  the  restrictions 
the  brain  places  upon  it,  and  that  it  is  in  this  state  less 
efficient.     Instead  of  the  mind  or  ideation  being  merely 


THE  AKGUMENT  FOR  THE  AFFIRMATIVE.         265 

"  the  clash  of  atoms, "  we  see  that  the  atoms  are  unable 
to  clash  nearly  as  fast  as  the  mind  would  have  them  do. 
We  find,  then,  that  this  customary  realization  of  self 
residing  apart  from  the  body,  is  not  an  illusion  but  a 
matter  thoroughly  sustained  from  scientific  data. 

WORDS    IN   CONCLUSION    OF   THIS   CHAPTER. 

To  pass  from  existence  in  one  state  of  realizing  life 
mto  like  existence  in  another,  such  as  leaving  our  bodies 
at  death  implies,  is  certainly  nothing  more  wonderful 
than  is  our  evolving  at  birth  from  the  senses  and  self 
of  another  to  the  senses  and  self  of  our  own — a  phe- 
nomenon that  is  an  utterly  impenetrable  mystery ;  and 
yet  it  is  the  very  first  fact  in  the  order  of  our  own  exist- 
ence. The  brain  is  of  service  in  the  economy  of  life  in 
supplying  it  with  some  valuable  form  of  subsistence  from 
the  physical  side  of  being — impressions,  perhaps,  that 
are  needful  or  indispensable  to  mind  in  the  early  state, 
though  it  is  not*  at  the  present  important  to  state  what 
is  the  character  of  this  need.  So,  too,  is  the  umbilicus 
of  the  unborn  child  valuable  to  its  pre-natal  life  in  con- 
necting it  with  a  source  of  subsistence  that  in  that  state 
is  indispensable.  But  the  umbilicus  is  not  a  permanent 
necessity.  Neither  is  the  continuance  of  this  tie  join- 
ing it  with  the  mother,  determined  by  any  very  closely 
fixed  period  in  the  child's  development.  The  child  may 
be  bom — ^the  tie  sundered — before  full  maturity,  and 
yet  live  and  do  well.  So,  likewise,  may  not  the  brain 
— the  tie  with  the  external  world — be  discontinued, 
the  individual  being  be  safely  liberated,  without  regard 


266  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

to  any  special  time  of  life  after  Self  shall  have  been 
fully  established  ? 

And,  yet  further;  as  birth  must  take  place — the  um- 
bilicus must  be  sundered  in  the  course  of  time — to  give 
to  the  growing  man  a  larger  liberty  and  wider  range  of 
action,  so  must  the  growing  mind — the  Self — in  time 
outgrow  the  need  of  the  brain  ligature  to  the  external 
world,  to  enter  upon  the  yet  greater  liberty  and  yet 
wider  range  provided  in  the  spiritual  realm — the  beyond 
of  death. 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

Man's  Proper  Immortality  Affirmed  by  the  Or- 
ganic Law  of  His  Being. 

CONSIDEEING  the  future  life  of  man  as  an  ascer- 
tained fact, — that  at  death  he  is  merely  divested 
of  the  body  and  still  lives,  it  needs  to  be  further  settled 
that  he  will  thence  live  always — is  properly  immortal. 

determining  duration. 

The  extent  of  the  duration  of  an  individual's  exist- 
ence, is,  in  all  cases,  to  be  estimated  mainly  by  ascer- 
taining what  its  adaptations  are ;  as  an  adaptation  may 
not  be  supposed  to  exist  without  an  objective  reality. 
Nature  is  in  no  instance  so  lacking  as  to  produce  an  aim- 
less creation ;  or  to  create  uses  and  not  also  the  object 
of  their  application.  Everywhere  the  means  and  the  end 
are  conjoined ;  and  the  one  is  no  more  a  fixed  verity  than 
is  the  other.  The  principle  applies  to  all  living  nature. 
The  webbed  foot  is  made  for  service  in  the  water ;  but 
its  existence  is  no  more  a  certainty  than  is  that  of  the 
water  which  its  peculiarity  indicates.  Indeed,  the  exist- 
ence of  the  water  may  be  said  to  be  the  prior  fact — ^the 
fact  that  determined  the  conformation  of  the  foot.  So, 
too,  the  wing  was  constructed  with  reference  to  locomo- 
tion on  the  air ;  the  fin,  through  the  water ;  the  foot,  on 

267 


268  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

solid  ground ;  the  eye  was  made  to  operate  in  properties 
that  are  peculiar  to  the  light ;  the  ear,  to  sound.  But 
without  the  equal  existence  of  these  objective  realities, 
air,  water,  earth,  light  and  sound,  these  peculiar  con- 
formations of  limbs  and  organs  would  not  be  called  for, 
and  would  have  no  existence. 

Furthermore,  this  principle  is  universally  recognized. 
The  naturalist,  seeing  a  bird  with  webbed  feet,  says,  It 
is  aquatic — it  is  adapted  to  swimming ;  and  there  must 
be  water  hereabout.  When  the  feet  are  prehensile,  he 
says.  This  animal  is  adapted  to  climbing  or  digging  and 
lives  on  trees  or  in  the  earth.  When  he  takes  up  a 
tooth  of  required  form  he  decides  it  to  be  from  the  car- 
nivora — the  flesh-eaters, — that  the  animal  was  hostile, 
and  that  in  its  age  animals  preyed  upon  each  other. 
Its  construction  implies  an  adaptation — a  use,  and,  as 
well,  the  object  of  the  use. 

These  are  of  the  more  simple  instances  wherein  the 
principle  is  illustrated.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider 
another,  one  of  a  somewhat  different  class.  A  seed 
germinated — a  plant  was  bom,  which,  completing  its 
orbit  of  being,  reached  maturity  and  ripened  its  fruit. 
Now,  although  natural  history  is  not  sufificiently  ma- 
tured to  enable  the  naturalist,  from  any  philosophy  of 
the  mode  of  the  plant's  life  and  form  to  see  that  it  is 
adapted  to  fruit, — ^the  kind  of  fruit  and  the  manner  of 
its  bearing,  yet  that  its  mode  did  from  the  first  unfail- 
ingly point  to  it,  no  naturalist  can  doubt.  The  plant 
in  its  conception  comprised  its  entire  history ;  and  the 
ending  was  as  truly  a  factor  thereof  as  the  beginning. 


MAN'S  PROPEE  IMMORTALITY  AFFIRMED.        269 

What  from  the  beginning  was  its  future  was  as  truly  a 
fact  thereof  as  was  its  present.  Its  future  was  but  its 
uniranspired  fact.  Its  feebleness  may  not  in  aU  in- 
stances admit  of  aU  the  facts  in  the  conception  trans- 
piring. The  progress  of  the  plant  may  be  intercepted 
by  some  accident  befalling  it — it  may  be  crushed  or  its 
supply  cut  off,  and  thus  not  suffered  to  come  to  maturity, 
while  still  the  destiny  in  its  conception  remains  the 
same. 

It  required  the  existence  of  the  conditions  for  the 
ending  state  as  much  as  for  those  for  the  beginning  state, 
to  constitute  for  it  the  mode  of  its  being.  The  plan 
rested  as  heavily  on  the  conditions  of  the  ending  as  on 
those  of  the  beginning  state  of  its  life. 

When,  therefore,  we  have  the  life  adaptations  of  an 
order  of  being,  we  have  with  equal  certainty  its  future 
— as  unequivocally  as  that  one  and  one  are  two.  In 
some  instances  they  seem  hopelessly  obscure,  as  in  the 
plant  in  its  early  state,  or  in  the  butterfly  in  the  larval 
state.  In  other  instances  they  are,  however,  very  sim- 
ple, and  readily  apparent. 

Then  to  determine  the  term  of  duration  after  death, 
whether  of  man  or  beast,  or  any  other  type  of  life,  it 
requires  to  be  ascertained  what  is  the  function  of  its 
life,  and  thence  what  is  the  orbit  of  its  movement  that 
its  destiny  is  to  describe. 

And  here,  before  entering  upon  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  man's  term  of  duration  in  the  next  life,  we 
may  as  well  at  once  attend  upon  the  question  that  will 


270  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

inevitably  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  Is  the  brute 
not  also  immortal  in  case  the  man  is  ? 

Life  in  animals  below  man  is  characterized  in  many 
respects  as  in  man  himself.  Their  organisms  are  oper- 
ated substantially  in  the  same  way.  Their  bodily  move- 
ments are  in  obedience  to  impingements  of  force  residing 
apart  from  the  body.  And  these  impingements  indicate 
this  force  as  more  or  less  intelligent.  In  them,  as  in 
man,  the  nervous  system  is  but  an  instrument. 

And  judging  by  what  is  known  at  the  present  time, 
this  principle  holds  good  down  to  the  lowest  limit  of  the 
kingdom.  The  animal  element,  in  all  its  phases  of  in- 
dividual being,  holds,  as  does  the  human,  an  existence 
apart  from  the  mineral  embodiment  which  it  animates. 
That,  then,  the  death  of  its  body  does  not  bar  the  con- 
tinuance of  its  individual  existence,  is  necessarily  to  be 
conceded.  And  if  there  are  no  after  death  adverse 
conditions,  its  continuance  might  weU  be  endless. 

Of  these,  however,  there  is  a  possibility.  Life  in  one 
aspect  is  identical  with  force  however  peculiar  and  won- 
derful it  otherwise  is.  It  is  characterized  by  the  laws 
of  force.  On  its  concentration  it  attains  to  increased 
activity  and  intensity,  and  often  makes  new  disclosures 
of  properties  and  develops  to  view  new  attributes  or 
wider  range  of  old  ones.  This  we  see,  for  example,  in 
man.  Straining  efforts  in  study  bring  the  mind  out 
into  clearer  vision  of  principles.  Straining  of  life 
under  burdens  of  heavy  sorrow  has  brought  to  realiza- 
tion the  greater  depths  and  breadths  of  affection.  That 
which  is  a  passive  ether,  may,  by  being  focalized,  become 


MAN'S  PROPEE  IMMORTALITY  AFFIRMED.        271 

an  effective  agent.  Physics  affords  numerous  illustra- 
tions of  this  character.  The  rays  of  light  converged 
through  a  lens  become  more  luminous  and  more  hot. 
The  same  fact  is  also  illustrated  in  the  electric  light. 
Then  that  which  must  be  conceded  as  a  zo-ether — ^the 
animal  element  in  primary  diffusion  (as  to  all  elements 
such  a  state  belongs) — is  likewise  susceptible  of  this 
kind  of  mutation,  whose  instances  of  focalization,  or 
nuclii,  are  its  individual  forms ;  these  being  multiplied 
by  the  ordinary  processes  of  generic  propagation.  The 
male  and  female  factors  in  generation  are  frequently 
spoken  of  as  the  positive  and  negative  states  of  the 
same  element.  And  from  their  mutual  ardor  in  copu- 
lation, originates  the  new  individual,  or  nucleus,  en- 
dowed with  all  the  life  and  attributes  of  its  kind. 

A  knowledge,  in  minutia,  of  these  facts,  is  not  at 
present  attainable.  We  can  speak  only  of  the  possibil- 
ities that  are  apparent  from  the  general  principle  that 
is  known.  But  the  individuals  thus  derived — bom — if 
not  from  their  natures  permanently  continuous,  would 
but  be  expected  at  the  consummation  of  their  period  to 
lapse  again  into  re-diffusion  with  their  several  elements. 

Now  instinct,  the  order  of  mentality  residing  in  the 
brute,  as  has  been  seen  (see  Chap.  9),  is  not  origina- 
tive— is  incapable  of  devising  within  itself  and  issuing 
from  itself  new  modes,  or  to  dis-establish  itself  from  old 
ones.  It  is  restricted  to  merely  the  power  to  reflect 
devices.  It  serves  for  their  echo ;  not  for  their  origin. 
Its  indications  are  more  those  of  an  instrument  than  of 
a  proprietor.     And  its  functions  being  thus  to  merely 


272  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

serve,  we  may  not  know  what,  its  individual  forms  may 
only  be  temporary. 

And  though  these  lower  animals  seem  to  possess  both 
will  and  choice  operating  by  the  impulses  of  pleasure 
and  pain,  it  admits  of  doubt  that  the  merely  auxiliary 
mental  element  of  which  their  existences  are  constituted 
is  capable  of  the  conditions  of  a  proper  Self — anything 
more  than  a  s?^6-Self,  analogous  to  that  kind  of  self 
that  is  constituted  in  every  special  sense,  and  that  re- 
sides in  its  own  special  head  or  brain  or  sub-brain — 
the  adjacent  ganglion, — as  for  example  the  optic  gang- 
lion situated  adjacent  to  the  eye  in  the  optic  nerve 
rendering  it  a  self-sentient  member,  as  experiment 
proves  it  to  be. 

A  passing  word,  in  respect  to  the  moral  aspect  of  this 
view  to  the  general  reader,  seems  called  for  in  this  place. 
From  custordary  observation  of  those  beautiful  beasts 
of  domestication,  so  intimately  and  agreeably  associated 
with  man,  and  arrayed  in  those  same  senses  in  which  he 
himself  is,  to  say  that  this  is  all  that  there  is  of  those 
lives,  can  hardly  fail  to  impress  one  disagreeably ;  at 
first  suggestion  at  least.  But  we  recall  that  facts  are 
altogether  inexorable,  and  loyalty  to  them  is  ever  to  be 
preferred  over  any  other  consideration,  however  pleasing. 
Besides,  to  recognize  all  that  is  commonly  seen  in  their 
existence,  and  to  bestow  all  the  consideration  of  love 
and  sympathy  and  care  that  may  be  bestowed  upon 
them,  is  fully  justified  by  this  view.  It  can  cause  no 
diminution  of  feeling  interest  in  their  welfare.  At  the 
same  time  to  themselves,  merely,  their  dissolution  could 


MAN'S  PROPEK  IMMORTALITY  AFFIRMED.        273- 

not  partake  of  the  character  of  a  calamity, — a  disap- 
pointment or  an  injustice ;  as  without  reason,  such  an 
event  could  hardly  be  realized,  and  certainly  not  valued. 

It  would  follow,  only,  that  at  the  termination  of  their 
round  of  being,  whatever  length  of  duration  that  might 
require,  and  by  whatever  law  might  apply  in  the  case,., 
the  power  (whatever  it  should  be)  that  so  held  their 
constituent  mental  elements  in  these  concentrated,, 
individualized  forms,  would,  by  change  of  conditions  in- 
duced by  the  special  character  of  their  own  properties,, 
disappear ;  and  the  individual  lives  would  lapse  into  re- 
distribution with  the  general  tides  of  their  original 
elements ;  possibly  to  be  re-gathered  and  re-represented 
in  other  instances  of  individual  life,  in  connection  with 
this  existence,  or,  also,  possibly  amid  the  scenes  sur- 
rounding man  in  his  immortal  home. 

It  remains,  however,  to  be  said,  that,  should  it  prova 
that  the  beast  is  constituted  with  the  element  of  reason 
in  latency,  that  might  under  some  form  of  coming  cir- 
cumstances in  another  state,  become  active,  and  so 
would  become  endowed  with  that  high  order  of  sentience, 
it,  too,  would  be  immortal, — and  human  as  well.  But 
of  it,  at  present,  there  is  no  trace  nor  hope  of  a  trace. 

IN    THE    CASE    OF    MAN    THE    ESSENTIAL  FACTS   ARE 
ENTIRELY    DIFFERENT. 

In  the  living  forms  below  man  we  find  mind  restricted 
to  the  level  of  mere  instinct,  and  hampered  with  con- 
ditions that  at  best  forebode  their  end.  But  the  re- 
verse of  thesf   conditions  we  find  in  the  estate  of  the 

18 


274  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

human  mind.  It  possesses  the  elements  of  reason. 
And  an  analysis  of  this  great  order  of  mind  leads  at 
once  to  the  discovery  that  its  continuance  is  endless. 

We  first  note  that  its  adaptation  (which  is  seen  to  be 
inexorable  law)  shows  that  the  mission  it  is  ordained  to 
fulfill  is  such  as  to  require  endless  time.  It  devises 
new  modes,  and  dis-establishes  itself  from  old  ones, 
when  they  cease  to  answer  its  requirements.  The  trans- 
actions in  the  history  of  our  arts  and  sciences  are,  in  a 
limited  way,  a  standing  illustration  of  this  truth.  New 
devices — new  modes — are  incessantly  appearing  in  every 
department  of  our  activities,  while  old  .ones  are  being 
discontinued,  as  our  sense  of  convenience  calls  for.  From 
this  fact  in  its  nature  its  existence  is  not  determined  by 
one  class  of  circumstances.  On  being  brought  into  re- 
lation with  new  conditions  incident  to  the  line  of  its 
being,  it  would  by  this  facility  in  its  nature  attain  to  new 
conditions  of  adjustment,  dis-establishing  itself  from  the 
old.  New  worlds  of  altogether  new  substances  might  thus 
he  passed  into  and  through,  becoming  as  dead  to  the 
worlds  left  behind. 

Endless  contingencies  would  then  seem  to  be  provided 
for  by  the  endlessly  versatile  genius  of  this  order  of 
mind ;  and  from  this  aspect  of  the  case  it  is  adapted  to 
an  endless  existence. 

Then,  added  to  this,  we  come  to  consider  the  next 
item  of  adaptation — that  the  reasoning  element  is  an 
endlessly  progressive  sentience.  And  here  we  must 
stop  to  anticipate  a  probable  criticism.  The  form  of 
mind  below  it,  too,  is  adapted  to  perceive  on  a  plane 


MAN'S  PKOPEE  IMMORTALITY  AFFIRMED.        275 

that  is  of  endless  variety  and  extent.  The  adaptation 
is,  however,  to  but  the  same  state  and  to  essentially 
the  same  thing,  whether  the  object  be  one  on  a  neigh- 
boring planet  or  immediately  before  it.  Consistency 
with  what  is  to  be  said  does  not  require,  therefore,  that 
the  mere  animal  must  exist  till  it  has  seen  the  last 
thing  in  physical  nature.  The  last  object  on  the  re- 
motest star  in  the  universe  might  as  well  be  first  seen 
as  last.  The  mission  of  the  representative  of  this  or- 
der of  mind,  is  in  this  respect,  fulfilled  in  the  very  first 
act  of  its  perception.  Neither  does  it  require  priority 
in  the  order  of  what  it  sees.  It  requires  not  that  a  tree 
must  be  seen  before  there  is  ability  to  see  a  horse. 

It  is  not  so  with  the  reasoning  sentience  of  man. 
"When  he  has  perceived  one  and  one  in  combination  as 
two  he  has  perceived  but  a  single  and  simple  principle 
— the  additive.  The  multiplicative  is  founded  on  this, 
but  is  attainable  only  by  additional  mental  acquirement 
— ^further  enlargement  and  greater  grasp  of  mind.  And 
many  a  brain-weary  pupil  who  has  unraveled  the  usu- 
ally prescribed  course,  principle  by  principle,  will  testify 
that  the  remotest  fact  of  mathematical  attainment  is 
not  perceived  by  the  same  low  power  that  the  first  is, 
nor  grasped  by  the  same  feeble  fabric.  But  from  these 
utterly  simple  beginnings,  rises  this  principle  of  science 
to  infinite  enlargement  and  infinite  variety.  That  the 
plan  of  the  reasoning  being — the  appointment  of  its 
destiny — included  the  last  and  highest  as  certainly  as 
the  first  and  lowest  element  of  this  science,  admits  of 
no  doubt  whatever. 


276  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

And  that  it  was  ordained  to  consummate  the  first ,  is  a 
fact  as  commonly  conceded  as  that  the  eye  was  formed 
to  utilize  the  light.  But  the  attainment  from  the  first 
to  the  last  is  but  the  process  of  the  mind's  evolution 
along  this  line  of  principles.  It  is  but  unfolding  the  in- 
nate plan  of  its  destiny ;  as  the  plant  does  when  throw- 
ing out  leaf  after  leaf  in  its  progress  toward  bloom  and 
fruit.  No  one  suspects  that  of  this  great  principle  of 
science  the  last  fact  is  in,  and  that  the  last  knowable  is 
known.  No  one,  on  reflection,  questions  that  the  know- 
able  applies  to  the  whole  infinite  extent  of  these  princi- 
ples,— to  all  the  unknown  as  well  as  to  those  known. 
Hence,  the  reasoning  mind,  indisputably  adapted  to  their 
attainment — by  its  essence  and  mechanism  being  or- 
dained to  verify  all  these  in  their  order — one  following 
upon  another — makes  the  mission  of  man  unendingly 
prolonged. 

I  have  referred  only  to  mathematics  in  the  illustra- 
tions thus  given.  It  will  readily  occur  that  the  subjects 
of  mental  pursuit  are  numerous  beyond  calculation,  and 
that  the  same  observations  will  apply  to  each.  In  each 
the  mind  achieves  its  attainments  by  evolving  its  nature 
along  the  lines  of  its  endless  paths ;  the  achievement 
of  each  principle  giving  it  width  and  strength  to  reach 
and  grasp  the  next.  And  on  each  his  mission  allots  him 
the  same  unending  career. 

Again,  in  these  facts  of  the  ever  enlarging  and 
strengthening  sentience  we  have  the  very  opposite  of 
termination.  Truly  the  ox  also  for  a  time  passes  through 
an  enlarging  process,  and  yet  is  seen  to  attain  to  a  limit 


MAN'S  PROPER    IMMORTALITY  AFFIRMED.        277 

prior  to  appropriating  all  the  universal  extent  of  assim- 
ilable elements.  But,  as  before  explained,  the  facts  are 
not  parallel.  The  stages  in  the  development  of  the  ox 
are  all  accomplished  without  passing  on  to  a  new  form 
or  state  of  elements.  The  last  mouthful  of  grass  at  the 
end  of  his  twenty  years  run  of  life  is  in  no  respect  un- 
like the  first.  And  the  level  of  attainment  made  in  the 
last  was  fully  made  in  the  first.  All  subsequent  ones 
were  but  repetitions.  The  enlargement  of  the  reasoning 
sentience  is  of  an  altogether  different  class  of  facts.  The 
nature  of  these  facts  make  it  that  the  more  knowing 
and  seeing  that  transpire  to  it,  the  more  is  it  set  on  to 
see  and  to  know,  and  the  larger  are  its  qualifications  to 
know  and  to  see. 

It  is  so  related  with  existence  that  constantly  recur- 
ring new  mental  scenery — new  developments  of  princi- 
ples— must  arise  to  view,  with  their  ever  fresh  induce- 
ments. The  monotony  of  all  the  time  continuing  in  one 
impression,  tends  to  sometime  destroy  all  desire  in  re- 
spect to  it.  But  here  each  new  achievement  begets  a 
new  zest.  The  last  achievement  is  then  always  the 
point  where  self  is  the  most  assured  of  its  continuance. 
And  this  fact  must  so  continue  so  long  as  the  infinite 
mazes  of  the  knowable  unknown  shall  supply  food  for 
the  ever  more  and  more  hungry  mind.  Thus  do  the 
very  essence  and  mechanism  of  the  reasoning  element 
of  which  man  is  the  finite  embodiment,  again  indicate 
for  him  this  destiny. 


278  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

THE    EVIDENCE    OF   PRESCIENCE. 

In  nature,  everywhere,  individual  presentiments 
are  taken  as  exponents  of  destiny.  To  some  ex- 
tent the  individual  is  possessed  of  a  prescience 
of  its  future.  It  is  presciently  affected  by  its  des- 
tiny. In  some  this  is  stronger  than  in  others.  And 
parts  only  of  destiny,  usually,  are  impressed  with 
sufficient  clearness  to  be  plainly  noted.  Neither 
are  these  at  all  times  equally  or  even  at  all  apparent 
to  mere  human  discernment.  But  the  pregnant 
dam,  realizing  that  she  is  tending  toward  progeny, 
seeks  for  it  appropriate  seclusion.  The  bird,  on  arrival 
of  the  breeding  season,  from  presciencing  a  brood,  pro- 
ceeds to  build  a  requisite  nest  in  anticipation  of  their 
requirements.  Besides,  the  principle  is  here  seen  to  ex- 
tend to  even  the  unconscious  states  of  existence.  In  the 
ovulating  process  in  the  cavity  of  the  bird,  independent 
of  her  own  volitions,  an  order  of  prescience,  foreseeing 
the  character  of  the  dependence  of  the  coming  bird's 
pre-natal  state  incased  in  the  shell  away  from  the  mother, 
stores  under  that  shell,  for  its  use  during  that  period, 
the  exact  quality  and  quantity  of  the  nutriment  it  shall 
require.  The  fly,  too,  deposits  her  eggs  with  reference  to 
the  sustenance  of  her  larvae.  It  sometimes  happens 
that  the  same  conditions  are  suited  to  her  own  wants, 
though  more  frequently  not.  The  IchneumonidcB,  a  large 
family,  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  larvae,  the  pupse  and 
even  the  eggs,  of  other  insects,  on  which  their  larvae 
immediately  feed.     The  Urocerata  bore  holes  in  trees  in 


MAN'S    PKOPEB    IMMORTALITY   AFFIRMED.       279 

which  they  deposit  their  eggs,  their  larvae  being  borers 
and  subsisting  on  the  juices  of  the  wood.  There  is, 
then,  the  same  principle  of  prescience  to  be  seen 
present  down  in  this  lower  kingdom  that  we  see  in  the 
dam  and  the  bird.  And  if  possessed  of  the  right  means 
of  apprehending,  the  principle  were,  doubtless,  to  be 
found  of  universal  extent. 

In  other  instances  animals  have  a  strong  prescience  of 
themselves  as  existing  in  a  future  period,  seen  in  the 
fact  that  they  lay  away  stores  and  make  other  provi- 
sion for  life's  necessities  with  which  to  meet  that 
coming  time.  For  that  purpose  the  squirrel  is  busy  lay- 
ing in  supplies  during  the  nutting  season ;  the  bee  is 
filling  its  galleries  with  honey  in  the  time  when  nature's 
laboratories  are  busily  sending  it  forth ;  the  beaver  is 
raising  its  dam,  and  the  muskrat  is  building  its  house. 

The  larva,  at  the  requisite  maturity  of  its  nature  for 
the  incoming  change,  presciences  itself  as  existing  not 
only  in  a  coming  period  but  in  a  different  mode  of  being, 
and  in  some  instances,  in  different  elements — in  another 
world.  It  proceeds  to  place  itself  in  suitable  surround- 
ings, with  a  view  to  the  safety  and  promotion  of  its 
transformation.  When  the  ordinary  state  of  surround- 
ing nature  incidentally  furnishes  those  conditions,  the 
principle  will  be  less,  if  at  all,  apparent.  When  the  act 
consists  in  simply  burrowing  in  the  earth  for  lodgment 
during  the  chrysalis  state,  the  fact  is  not  prominently 
suggestive ;  unless  we  stop  to  notice  that  certain  rules 
respecting  depth  are  observed.  We  then  see  that  there  is 
a  prescience  of  need  as  to  measures  of  warmth,  moist- 


280  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

ure,  light,  and  air  for  self  while  undergoing  the  change. 
And  when,  as  at  times  is  seen,  the  arrangements  in- 
clude special  shape  and  size  of  the  chamber  of  trans- 
formation, a  prescience  of  the  new  shape  and  mode  of 
being,  also,  is  forcibly  suggested. 

In  some  cases,  however,  the  ordinary  state  of  sur- 
rounding nature  is  very  foreign  to  the  needs  of  the  in- 
sect. In  the  large  family  of  the  Lepidoptera,  with  the 
generality  the  transformation  requires  such  particularity 
and  delicacy  of  circumstance  as  that  the  most  elabor- 
ate encasing  and  sealing  in  away  from  the  ordinary  in- 
fluences of  the  elements,  is  indispensable.  This  may  be 
conveniently  seen  in  the  construction  of  the  silk  cocoon. 
Of  extraordinary  care  and  diligence  bestowed  upon  the 
construction  of  this  wonderful  tomb- cradle,  we  have 
an  example  in  that  important  worm — the  beneficent 
exuder  of  the  silk  of  commerce.  Figuier,  in  detailing 
its  behaviour  and  mode  of  procedure,  observes  that  up 
to  the  time  of  its  maturity  "  the  worm  had  never  tried 
to  leave  its  litter.  It  lived  a  sedentary  life  and  never 
thought  of  wandering  away  from  its  food.  Now  it  is 
seized  with  an  important  desire  for  changing  its  quar- 
ters. It  gets  up,  it  roams  about  and  moves  its  head  in 
all  directions  to  find  some  place  to  cling  on  to.  It  walks 
over  everything  within  its  reach,  particularly  over  those 
obstacles  which  are  placed  vertically.  It  aspires,  not  to 
descend,  like  the  heroes  of  classic  tragedy,  but  to  rise. 

*  *  It  now  looks  for  a  convenient  place  in  which 
to  establish  its  cocoon.  Every  one  has  remarked  how 
the  animal  sets  to  work  to  accomplish  its  task.    It  begins 


MAN'S    PROPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIRMED.       281 

by  throwing  from  different  sides  threads  destined  for 
fixing  the  cocoon.  *  *  The  proper  space  having  been 
circumscribed  by  this  means,  the  worm  begins  to  un- 
wind its  thread.  *  *  Folded  upon  itself  almost  like 
a  horse-shoe,  its  back  within,  its  legs  without,  the  worm 
arranges  its  thread  all  around  its  body,  describing  ovals 
with  its  head.  *  *  As  long  as  the  cocoon  is  not  very 
thick  one  can  watch  it  through  the  meshes  of  the  web 
applying  and  fixing  its  thread,  still  to  a  certain  degree 
soft,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  adhere  closely  to 
the  parts  already  formed  "  (The  Insect  World,  p.  224). 
Upon  the  task  it  bestows  seventy  hours,  as  an  average, 
of  this  kind  of  toil,  weaving  about  itself,  into  the  space  of 
an  inch  and  a  half,  over  a  thousand  yards  of  silk  fiber. 

The  first  weaving  is  of  floss  silk  closely  matted,  and 
forms  an  excellent  protection  from  rain.  Next  beneath  is 
spun  the  finer  quality  of  silk  in  the  manner  referred  to,  up 
and  down  and  crosswise  in  all  directions  about  the  body. 
Lastly,  within  this,  and  of  still  more  delicate  silk,  and 
glued  firmly  together,  is  formed  the  last  and  innermost 
layer  immediately  surrounding  it.  The  whole  consti- 
tutes a  chamber  wall  well  calculated  to  exclude  water, 
air,  and  cold,  and  what  might  be  of  no  less  importance, 
to  break,  by  its  most  delicate  elasticity,  the  force  of  rude 
jostlings. 

To  all  these  wise  provisions — these  elaborate  arrange- 
ments— ^the  little  animal  is  moved  by  a  prescience,  how- 
ever irrational,  of  not  alone  itself  and  its  needs  in  the 
transforming  state,  but  scarcely  less  also  of  itself  as  a 


282  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

being  transformed — ^the  objective  fact  which  all  these 
arrangements  and  proceedings  include. 

From  the  family  of  the  Neuroptera,  the  larva  of  the 
widely  prevalent  and  well-known  dragon-fly,  constitutes 
a  fair  subject  for  a  still  further  illustration  of  this  prin- 
ciple. On  account  of  its  sharply  defined  habits,  it  has 
been  a  favorite  subject  of  remark  by  naturalists.  Of 
it  Figuier,  the  French  naturalist  above  cited,  appropri- 
ately says : 

"  The  female  lays  her  eggs  in  the  water,  from  which 
emerge  larvae,  which  remind  one  somewhat  of  the  form 
of  the  insect,  only  their  body  is  more  compact  and  their 
head  flattened.  The  larvsB  and  pupae  inhabit  the  bot- 
tom of  ponds  and  streams,  where,  keeping  out  of  sight 
in  the  mud,  they  seek  for  insects,  moUusks,  small  fish, 
etc.  If  any  prey  passes  within  their  reach,  they  dart 
forward,  like  a  spring,  a  very  singular  arm,  which  rep- 
resents the  under  lip.  *  *  *  To  effect  its  meta- 
morphosis, it  drags  itself  out  of  the  water,  where  it  has 
lived  for  nearly  a  year,  climbs  slowly  to  some  neighbor- 
ing plant,  and  hangs  itself  there.  Very  soon  the  sun 
dries  and  hardens  its  skin,  which,  all  of  a  sudden,  be- 
comes crisp,  and  cracks.  The  dragon-fly  then  sets 
free  its  head  and  its  thorax  and  its  legs ;  its  wings,  still 
soft  and  wanting  in  vigor,  gain  strength  by  coming  in 
contact  with  the  air,  and  after  a  few  hours  they  have 
attained  their  full  development.  Immediately  the  in- 
sect abandons,  like  a  worn-out  suit,  the  dull,  slimy  skin 
which  had  covered  it  so  long,  and  which  still  preserves 


MAN'S    PBOPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIRMED.       283 

its  shape,  and  dashes  off  in  quest  of  prey  "  (The  Insect 
World,  pp.  420,  422). 

From  its  birth  it  breathed  water  only,  for  which  it 
was  provided  with  gills.  It  lived  exclusively  at  the  bot- 
tom in  the  slime  and  mud ;  and  its  great  vivacity  is  ev- 
idence that  for  the  time  it  was  well  suited  with  that 
state.  It  evinced  as  complete  an  absence  of  relation 
with  the  atmospheric  world  above  as  did  the  fish.  Yet 
on  arrival  of  the  requisite  maturity,  it  was  seized  by  a 
controlling  impulse  to  leave  its  surrounding  and  to  rise 
— ^to  proceed  in  a  direction  hitherto  unrecognized — to  fix 
itself  upon  a  means  of  ascent  for  existence  in  an  element 
unexperienced  and  practically  unknown.  That  the  in- 
sects referred  to  employ  their  customary  intelligence  in 
these  deportments  cannot  be  questioned.  And  though 
they  may  not  be  said  to  follow  their  external  senses  in 
their  choices  severally  of  manner  of  deportment,  they  fol- 
low, to  the  last,  a  sentiment  that  is  equivalent  to  sight 
in  its  power  over  the  volitions.  It  is  sight, — an  order 
of  sight  whose  apprehending  qualities  admit  of  its  be- 
ing thrown  forward  through  time  to  seize  upon  and,  with 
some  measure  of  accuracy  and  fuUness,  define  the  facts 
of  untranspired  existence. 

It  hence  follows  that  generic  impressions,  however  ob- 
scure,— impressions  that  characterize  a  whole  order  or 
family  of  beings — are  as  fully  to  be  relied  on  as  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  the  facts  of  being  to  which  they 
point,  as  that  a  web-foot  is  evidence  of  water  or  an  eye 
determines  the  existence  of  light. 

Then,  as  stiU  another  fact  in  evidence  of  the  endless- 


284  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

ness  of  his  future  existence,  it  may  be  stated  that  man, 
too,  is  characterized  by  this  same  law  of  prescience,  by 
which,  however  obscurely  and  without  the  details  of  mode 
and  circumstances,  he  foresees  himself  as  surviving  with- 
out limit — to  be  always  in  a  state  intent  on  advancing 
to  the  attainment  of  the  next  fact  of  principle;  and 
so  onward  throughout  the  endless  knowable  unknown. 
And,  whatever  his  theoretical  acquirements  may  lead 
him  to  reason  out  contrary  to  this,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  this  sentiment  of  continued  future  existence 
can  be  educated  into  complete  silence  in  any  instance. 
Education  may  do  much  toward  obscuring,  but  it  can  do 
nothing  toward  eliminating  this  constituent  principle  of 
his  being.  That  he  presciences  himself  in  a  survival  of 
death,  is  evident  from  the  race-wide  impression  that  in 
some  form  the  dead  are  still  living  on.  Every  land 
has  at  least  its  superstition  respecting  this — ^that  that 
which  would  occur  to  all  as  the  most  probable  time 
when  his  final  ending  should  take  place — physical  death, 
has  not  so  terminated  him  and  does  not.  Neither  would 
it  be  of  consequence  to  claim  the  fact  to  be  a  superstition. 
Then  the  principle  of  this  prescience  would  be  necessary 
in  turn  to  explain  the  presence  of  the  superstition. 
Therefore  in  this  form  the  impression  were  as  valuable 
as  a  matter  of  evidence,  as  though  it  were  found  form- 
ulated in  the  most  lucid  terms  of  his  reason.  The  phe- 
nomenon is  plainly  due  to  the  prompting  of  a  sense 
having  an  adequate  power  over  the  volitions ;  and,  being 
common  to  the  race,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  regarded 
than  a  generic  function ;  and  points  to  an  endless  life 


MAN'S    PEOPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIRMED.       285 

as  truly  as  to  simply  existence  beyond  the  grave.  It  is 
necessarily  founded  on  those  provisions  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  his  nature  which  determine  the  mode  and  the  ex- 
tent of  his  continuance  in  being — ^the  requirements 
and  destiny  of  a  reasoning  mind.  And,  however  unreal- 
izing  of  it,  this  prescience  cannot  have  reference  to  less 
than  all  of  future  life — an  undefined  vision  of  Self  in 
all  its  coming  history. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case  the  force  of  this  pre- 
science would  be  less  realized  in  a  mind  pre-occupied  by 
the  luminous  visions  of  reason  tending  to  obscure  it.  It 
is,  hence,  more  difficult  to  draw  man's  attention  rightly 
upon  it  in  his  own  case  than  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
sects, etc.  It  is  not  readily  detected,  nor  is  its  impor- 
tant bearing  on  this  subject  readily  seen  without  careful 
inquiry  into  the  nature  and  cause  of  those  eager  move- 
ments of  mind,  in  its  healthy  state,  toward  achieve- 
ments that  lie  extended  out  infinitely,  along  which,  to  be 
sure — along  all  this  endless  attaining — the  existence  of 
self  is  always  the  prior  fact.  These  facts  when  seen 
and  comprehended,  become  evidence  quite  conclusive 
and  unquestionable.  And  the  naturalist  apprehending 
them  rightly  would  say  of  the  possessor  of  these  pecul- 
iarly marked  activities  of  mind,  "  This  being  is  one  des- 
tined, in  some  form,  to  survive  always."  He  would  say 
it  upon  the  same  principle  that  would  be  his  authority 
for  asserting  of  the  insect  that  he  sees  weaving  its  co- 
coon, "This  is  a  creature  of  a  twofold  life;"  or  of  the 
one  which,  in  opposition  to  all  the  custom  of  its  previous 


286  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

life  of  adhering  exclusively  to  the  bottom  of  the  pool, 
he  now  saw  crawling  toward  the  air  above,  "  Its  exist- 
ence extends  into  another  order  of  elements — into 
another  world. " 

This  principle  of  presciencing  self  in  a  future  may 
be  safely  considered  as  present  throughout  all  living  nat- 
ure. It  is  not  necessary  that  we  see  it  equally  or  even 
at  all  illustrated  in  each  of  the  families,  nor  in  all  the 
individuals  of  the  same  family  to  yet  be  fully  assured  of 
its  existence  there.  We  need  not  be  able  to  sense  heat 
in  the  greatest  cold  attainable  in  order  to  know  that 
heat  still  is  there. 

THE    MAIN    OBJECTIONS    TO    THIS    THEOEY   CONSIDEEED. 

But  here  it  may  occur  that  still  a  serious  flaw  exists 
in  this  part  of  the  argument.  That  plant  whose  nature 
included  its  future  period  of  fruit — whose  mode  of  de- 
velopment was  evidence  of  its  fruit-bearing  destiny — 
whose  last  act  of  principle  was  as  truly  a  fact  of  its  be- 
ing as  its  first — may  have  the  fatal  foot  descend  upon 
it;  and  that  untranspired  fact  of  its  history  may  after 
all  never  transpire,  and  its  existence  be  terminated  short 
of  this  indicated  destiny.  The  silk- worm  weaving  its  co- 
coon for  the  use  of  its  future  self  which  it  foresees,  may 
be  suddenly  cut  short  by  the  proprietor  choosing  to  util- 
ize that  cocoon  in  his  crop  of  silk.  The  squirrel  may 
fall  a  victim  to  the  sportsman's  shot  before  he  shall 
have  arrived  in  that  future  wherein  he  has  prescienced 
himself  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  hoard  of  nuts.  Then 
the  man,  too,  it  is  objected,  though  presciencing  him- 


MAN'S    PROPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIRMED.       287 

self  of  an  endless  continuance  in  life  may  suffer  a  sim- 
ilar disappointment. 

But  at  most  this  objection  could  avail  but  in  part,  as 
the  disappointment  in  no  case  applies  to  all  of  the  same 
order  or  family.  Always  of  each,  some,  at  least,  attain 
to  the  prescienced  end,  or  have  done  so.  And  but  for 
modifying  accidents  all  would,  beyond  a  doubt.  But  it 
has  in  substance  been  already  said  that  the  prescience  is 
general  and  not  specific  in  character,  and  is  more  or  less 
obscure.  Besides,  though  the  individual  does  so  foresee 
itself,  the  perception  is  by  the  generic  law  represented 
in  it.  Its  prescience  is  of  the  family  nature  and  the 
family  destiny,  and  may  be  illustrated  in  a  regiment  of 
troops  ordered  to  take  a  position.  The  order  having 
been  promulgated,  the  individual  member  anticipates 
himself  in  the  appointed  position,  and  deports  himself 
accordingly.  Yet  by  accident  he  may  be  prevented  from 
attaining  his  anticipations ;  though  in  the  regiment  they 
will  be  fulfilled.  By  the  general  order  necessarily  rep- 
resented in  his  individual  case  he  has  seen  of  himself 
what  transpired  only  of  his  regiment.  Bating  only  in- 
superable accidents  it  would  also  have  transpired  in  his 
own  case.  So,  too,  the  untranspired  fact  of  principle  in  the 
plant  is  properly  of  its  genus.  The  untranspired  ex- 
istence of  the  larva  in  the  fly  state  in  the  air  and  by 
wings,  did  transpire  in  its  genus,  and  was  actually 
prescienced  by  it  in  respect  to  itself  as  included  in  the 
nature  bearing  that  destiny ;  though  it  fell  a  prey  to  the 
fish  before  gaining  the  top  of  the  water.  And,  also,  but 
for  the  overmastering  accident,  it,  too,  would  infallibly 


288  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

have  attained  to  that  end.  And  so  the  prescience  was 
not  in  error. 

But  for  accidents  of  surroundings  there  probably 
would  be  no  variations  as  to  features,  size  or  destiny 
among  the  individuals  of  any  family  of  plant  or  animal. 

Still  further,  we  have  seen  that  the  visible  part  of  the 
plant  is  but  the  mineral  structure  of  its  embodiment — 
really  its  tool  or  its  house,  on  which  its  existence  is  not 
finally  dependent,  and  that  the  same  is  true  of  the  body 
of  the  animal,  of  whatever  order  or  family.  Then  who 
can  say  that  the  plant  whose  unfinished  body  was 
crushed,  may  not  on  its  own  side  of  nature,  attain  the 
same  prescienced  end  of  reproduction  by  a  means  not 
requiring  the  visible  embodiment  of  germs  ?  And  may 
not  the  squirrel  too,  and  the  bee,  in  some  form  in  a  sep- 
arate state  of  life,  realize  a  supply  of  some  character 
toward  which  their  prescience  vaguely  led  them,  though 
it  be  not  a  physical  aliment  ? 

From  the  plain  fact,  however,  that  the  most  favored 
plant  always  attains  to  fruit, — the  most  favored  caterpil- 
lar always  attains  to  the  state  of  the  fly,  etc.,  the  objec- 
tion wholly  loses  its  force.  The  prescience  after  all,  is 
infallible.  It  establishes  the  state  and  sets  forth  what 
manner  of  future  the  genera  attains,  in  all  cases.  And 
as  to  the  argument,  it  is  a  matter  of  entire  indifference 
whether  individual  exceptions  are  referred  to  or  not,  more 
than  to  say  that  but  for  adequate  hindrances  no  ex- 
ceptions were  possible ;  and,  also,  that  whether  there 
really  are  any  such  exceptions  or  not,  in  any  order  of 
life,  is  finally  unknown. 


MAN'S    PROPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIRMED.       289 

But  in  the  essential  nature  of  man,  altogether  differ- 
ing from  the  lower  forms  of  life,  there  are  facts  to  be 
seen  why  all  individuals  thereof  must  attain  to  the  gen- 
eric destiny.  It  is  of  a  devisive  volitience,  capable  not 
alone  of  apprehending  the  rationale  in  creation,  but  of 
creating — of  originating  ideals  and  embodying  them ; 
being  thus  co-ordinate  in  substance  with  the  supreme  es- 
sence embodying  the  supreme  prerogatives ;  and  is  dis- 
tinguished therefrom  alone  by  the  ever- abiding  infinite 
difference  that  the  infinite  and  the  finite  capacities  and 
prerogatives  must  constitute. 

Then  the  human  individual  being  thus  generically  su- 
preme above  them,  all  lower  elements  must  ultimately 
yield  to  its  requirements,  and  are  without  a  possibility 
to  contravene  its  tendency  to  destiny,  however  inferior 
on  the  scale  the  representative  may  be  found. 

CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THIS  CHAPTER. 

It  is  not  expected,  that  at  first  reading  at  least,  in  all 
instances  where  the  reader  is  unaccustomed  to  the  prin- 
ciples brought  forward,  these  presentations  will  be 
wholly  clear  and  satisfactory.  Much  will  depend  on  the 
ready  facility  for  perceiving  the  force  there  is  in  the 
universal  law  of  tendencies.  That  trait  of  mind  that  will 
readily  perceive  that  an  object  liberated  before  a  major 
force  at  once  becomes  a  projectile,  and  that  without 
modifications  derived  from  outlying  modes  of  resistance,. 
or  from  its  own  properties,  it  will  continue  the  charac- 
ter of  motion  derived  from  the  impulse  (a  fundamental 
law  recognized  in  all  mechanics,  and  that  is  the  basis' 

19 


1:90  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

of  all  astronomical  calculations)  may  be  safely  hoped  to 
have  little  difficulty  in  following  the  argument  and  at- 
taining its  conclusions. 

Yet  still  another  difficulty  is  foreseen,  even  with  this 
class  of  readers.  The  one  unhabituated  to  continuing 
the  mental  vision  of  man  as  uninterruptedly  passing  on 
through  death,  will  require  time  for  the  adjustment  of 
his  mental  senses  to  that  fact ;  as  when  one  in  order  to 
see  clearly  an  object  portrayed  in  a  stereoscope  needs  at 
the  instrument  to  await  awhile  a  certain  adjustment  of 
the  eyes. 

Only  when  one  doubts  that  the  plant  that  bore  fruit 
was  definitely  actuated  to  that  end  by  a  tendency  that 
resided  in  it  in  its  beginning,  and  that  was  identical  with 
it  throughout  its  entire  history,  and  on  the  contrary  con- 
siders it,  in  each  case,  as  having  merely  happened  so, 
may  he  consistently  doubt  for  the  self  of  man  an  end- 
less career. 

It  is  true  that  mind  has  not  in  any  instance  been  seen 
to  have  fulfilled  this  destiny,  and  may  not  so  be  seen. 
But  does  the  thinker  hesitate  on  this  account  ?  Has  he 
Been  the  mind  achieving  the  unknown  achievements  yet 
of  the  future?  Does  he  know  of  any  one  who  has? 
Certainly  not.  And  does  he  doubt  that  the  mind  will  at- 
tain to  them  ? — that  further  principles  will  be  known 
that  are  not  yet  known  ?  Has  he  seen  his  approaching 
harvest  in  its  golden  maturity  ?  Has  any  one  seen  it  ? 
Does  he  believe  it  possible  that  any  one  has  seen  it  ?  It 
is  impossible.  Without  admitting  this  same  principle 
that  in  man  establishes  his  immortal  destiny,  it  is  of  no 


MAN'S    PKOPER    IMMORTALITY    AFFIEMED.       291 

consequence  to  his  purpose  that  he  says,  "Other  har- 
vests have  been  seen  to  mature ;  "  for  then  it  could  no 
longer  follow  from  that  ripening  that  ripening  would  in 
this  instance  take  place,  though  no  hindrances  whatever 
occurred !  The  sun,  including  the  solar  system,  is  known 
to  accomplish  an  orbit.  Has  any  one  seen  it  accom- 
plished? Has  any  one  in  the  history  of  our  race  seen 
an  instance  of  its  accomplishment  ?  No,  neither  has 
been  seen.  How  then  is  it  known  ?  In  its  deportment 
a  tendency  to  that  effect  is  seen.  And  on  the  strength 
of  this  evidence  alone,  no  astronomer  doubts  its  truth. 
It  is  entirely  sufficient  that  it  is  seen  fulfilling !  The 
same  philosophy  sees  in  man's  deportment  the  tendency 
of  this  destiny,  and  likewise  its  fulfillment,  which  is  ev- 
idence much  less  fallible  than  men  require  for  their 
daily  business  transactions. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

Questions    Eespecting    the    Kelation    of    the    Two 
WoBLDS. — The  Laws  and  Modes  of  Mental  Inteb- 

COUBSE   OB   THE    TbANSMISSION   OP    THOUGHT. InSPIBA- 

TION. 

THE  conclusions  attained  in  the  foregoing  chapters 
would  naturally  and  properly  be  followed  by  a  de- 
sire to  know  to  what  extent  the  survivors  in  that  inner 
and  superior  world  may  have  the  ability  to  know  of  us 
and  our  affairs  in  this;  and  also  to  what  extent 
influences  may  be  derived  from  them. 

With  a  view  to  answering  alone  from  the  standpoint 
of  natural  facts,  we  first  look  to  see  what  means  of  in- 
tercourse these  facts  supply.  And  first  in  order  the 
present  chapter  is  devoted  to  considering  the  mode  by 
which  one  mind  or  self  operates  upon  another  mind  or 
self, — how  one  observes  another,  and  how  thought  and 
sympathy  are  transmitted.  It  being  a  fact  that  over  all 
obstacles,  individuals  have  to  some  extent  intercourse 
with  each  other.  All  lament,  however,  that  the  means 
of  intercourse  are  so  incomplete  and  the  inter- 
course is  so  imperfect.  With  the  most  expert  ones 
there  constantly  is  a  mistaking  of  meaning,  even 
on  the  same  levels  of  attainment  and  on  subjects  of  a 

292 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  293 

common  understanding.  This  is  true  of  the  highest 
circles  of  letters  and  of  science.  But  it  is  particularly 
noticeable  in  the  intercourse  between  men  of  science, 
where  an  accurate  understanding  is  more  imperatively 
necessary.  How  much  misleading  there  has  been  over 
the  terms  "development"  and  "protoplasm,"  for  exam- 
ple, in  respect  to  which  it  is  very  uncertain  even  now 
whether  any  two  are  exactly  understanding  each  other. 
Much  of  the  debate  over  them  is  due  to  mutual  misun- 
derstandings. 

With  the  more  common  class  the  deficiency  is  still 
greater.  The  field  of  thought  upon  which  a  clear, 
mutual  understanding  may  take  place  with  people 
of  ordinary  attainments  is  surprisingly  limited.  Only 
upon  matters  of  very  commonplace  experience,  in  which 
all  are  largely  participating,  can  understandings  be  re- 
lied upon  with  anything  like  mathematical  certainty. 
Perplexed  minds,  who  are  painfully  conscious  of  the  im- 
perfection of  their  linguistic  arrangements  for  deliver- 
ing their  thoughts  to  others,  are  often  heard  to  exclaim : 
"Oh,  if  I  could  only  express  myself !"  It  indicates  the 
strait  to  which,  in  some  measure,  every  mind  is  subject ; 
while  indeed  many  are  so  poor  in  language  as  to  be 
mainly  cut  off  from  being  understood,  or  known  as  to 
their  mental  status,  save  what  may  be  seen  in  their  gen- 
eral deportment. 

RESPECTING  THE  MODE  OF  MENTAL  INTERCOURSE. 

The  mode  of  mental  intercourse  in  the  present  state 
of  being  is  mainly  by  means  of  certain  external  signs  of 


294  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

gestures  and  sounds,  conventionally  adopted,  and  ad- 
dressed to  the  senses.  These  devices  of  communication 
are  so  obvious  and  pronounced  as  to  almost  wholly  ob- 
scure certain  other  phenomena  of  a  psychological  char- 
acter that  are  incident  to  human  beings.  Yet  back  of 
all  artificial  modes  of  speech,  and  quite  independent  of 
them,  is  a  means  of  intercourse  as  to  the  general  charac- 
ter of  thought  and  feeling,  that  is  quite  universally  in- 
telligible, whereby  a  neighbor's  sentiments  may  be  ob- 
tained in  some  measure  of  fullness,  of  whose  conven- 
tional language  we  are  ignorant;  whereby  even  the 
dumb  brute  may  be  understood  and  may  also  under- 
stand. The  modulating  impulses  of  thought  and  of 
passion,  of  pain  and  of  pleasure,  are  often  so  pronounced 
as  to  be  unmistakable  by  the  most  unskillful  beholders, 
as  to  their  general  character,  without  the  specialties 
and  details  that  are  incident  to  them.  A  physician  of 
many  years'  practice  once  said,  "I  would  rather  trust 
my  diagnosis  of  an  infant  than  of  the  average  adult. 
Its  feelings  without  language  are  more  easily  and  per- 
fectly communicated  than  are  those  of  the  adult  who 
undertakes  to  supplement  the  natural  language  of  pain 
by  verbal  statements  that  are  as  likely  to  mislead  as 
otherwise. " 

There  is  the  blush  that  rises  on  the  face  from  the 
abashed  feelings,  or  from  the  feelings  of  shame.  And 
there  is  the  pale  blench  that  comes  from  cringing  fear. 
The  eye  glares  forth  the  lurid  gleams  of  frantic  hatred 
or  vengeance,  terrifying  to  intercept.  Or  from  it  may 
fall,  remotely  opposite  from  this,  the  tender,  glowing  ar- 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  295 

dor  of  impassioned  love,  quite  as  impossible  to  resist 
as  the  other  is  to  endure.  Then  from  it  will  sparkle 
forth  the  humor  of  capricious  wit,  or  gleam  the  earnest- 
ness of  determined  argument.  Or  its  quiet,  steady  flame 
will  plainly  tell  of  laboring,  straining  evolutions  of 
thought  going  on  privately  within. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  beholding  a  being  in  life 
thus,  is  mainly  the  beholding  of  life  itself, — the  composite 
state  of  innumerable  varieties  of  actuations  that  at  every 
point  of  time  are  taking  place  within,  and  are  both  vol- 
untarily and  involuntarily  reacting  upon  the  organism. 
On  a  moment's  reflection,  the  object  of  our  contemplation, 
when  thus  looking  on  a  fellow  being,  is  not  the  mineral 
compound  of  flesh  and  blood,  etc.,  that  our  senses  lodge 
against ;  it  is  the  inner  self  beyond,  to  the  impulses  of 
which  the  mobile,  delicately  pliant  mineral  aggregate 
yields  expression,  by  means  of  the  interlying  elements 
of  nerve  forces.  But  these  movements  are  the  uncon- 
ventional ones.  They  are  not  those  artificially  pro- 
duced and  mutually  agreed  upon  to  be  us^  as  "the 
signs  of  ideas."  Upon  reaching  us  through  the  medium 
of  our  senses,  they  rhythmically  excite  like  impulses  in 
ourselves,  which  is  the  basis  of  this  common  understand- 
ing by  means  of  them.  The  sight  of  tears  excites  us  to 
tears ;  the  sight  of  smiles,  to  smiles ;  which  is  in  no 
sense  conventional,  but  is  by  sympathy  or  sameness  of 
life,  which  in  all  instances  under  equal  conditions  yields 
the  same  phenomena,  and  by  the  phenomena,  alternately, 
is  excited  the  same  impulse ;  as  the  string  sharing  the 
same  chord  of  harmony  with  a  neighboring  string,  when 


296  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

singing,  awakens  in  the  other  the  vibrations  of  the  same 
song,  and  in  turn  when  song  is  sounding  forth  from  the 
other,  is  prompted  to  corresponding  vibrations. 

It  is  seen,  then,  that  the  transmission  of  thought,  as 
ordinarily  seen  to  occur,  is  by  means  of  the  law  which 
enables  the  mind  to  impress  intelligently  modulated 
forces  upon  its  own  adjacent  substances,  voluntarily 
projecting  the  conventional  sounds  and  gestures  forth 
upon  the  neighboring  senses  of  sight  and  hearing  of  an- 
other ;  and  by  which,  too,  still  further,  the  states  of  feel- 
ing and  of  thought  are  involuntarily  portrayed  through 
upon  the  external  features  of  Self  to  be  observed  by  an- 
other. 

But  one  more  method,  one  less  familiar  to  the  gen- 
eral mind,  should,  properly,  be  here  considered.  The 
individual  life,  by  the  very  conditions  of  its  individuality, 
is,  in  its  proper  selfhood,  impermeable  and  indiffusible 
by  even  its  own  element,  somewhat  as  the  crystallized 
part  of  a  fluid  does  not  admit  into  its  personal  limits 
the  adjacent  fluid,  nor  enter  into  diffusion  therewith. 
Yet  over  an  ever  present  co-equal  ether  of  its  own  nat- 
ure and  plane,  and  infinitely  abounding,  and  adequate 
to  receive  and  transmit  any  grade  of  mental  conception, 
and  of  sentiment  and  passion,  on  its  plane,  its  impulses 
of  thought  and  of  feeling  extend  abroad  to  the  limits  of 
another  individual,  there  to  await  the  properly  matured 
apprehending  powers — ^the  suitably  refined  and  disci- 
plined sensibilities,  and  the  discriminating  judgment,  to 
be  received  and  conveyed  inward  upon  the  register  of 
consciousness  of  the  neighboring  individual. 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  297 

From  the  obscureness  of  the  elements  involved  in 
this  statement,  it  naturally  becomes  more  difficult  to 
verify  to  the  average  undertanding.  And  for  the  pur- 
pose I  refer  to  but  a  few  classes  of  facts.  In  the  order 
of  nature  each  individual  of  whatever  kingdom,  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  atmosphere  or  an  ether  of  more  or  less 
density,  consisting  of  its  own  order  of  substance  under 
unlike  conditions,  and  more  or  less  stable.  Our  earth— 
a  mineral  ball — is  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere,  which 
is  of  the  mineral  state,  and  hence  is  also  mineral.  This 
atmosphere,  quite  dense  upon  the  surface,  grows  more 
rare  as  it  widens  out  from  the  center  to  join  the  atmos- 
pheres of  neighboring  planets ;  and  from  the  solar  sys- 
tem, in  yet  greater  rarity,  it  proceeds  till  it  joins  that  of 
neighboring  systems,  and  so  on,  overspreading  infinity. 
When  the  steel-faced  forge-hammer  rebounds  from  a  bar 
of  cold  steel  with  such  a  piercing  ring,  atoms  themselves 
have  not  touched.  The  concussion  was  only  upon  their 
atmospheres  in  which  they,  themselves,  remained  all 
the  while  suspended.  The  force,  however,  was  mainly 
effective  upon  the  centers — the  individuals — themselves, 
causing  a  change  of  their  aggregates.  The  bar  of  steel 
and  the  face  of  the  hammer  were  not  quite  the  same 
after  the  stroke.  It  was,  after  all,  a  communication  of 
individuals  with  each  other,  by  way  of  their  common 
atmospheres,  which  render  their  flexible,  centripetal  and 
centrifugal  forces,  possible. 

The  same  is  true  of  planetary  relations.  They  com- 
municate with  each  other  sympathetically,  individual 
with  individual,  by  means  of  the  interlying  ethers  or  at- 


298  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

mosplieres  affording  embodiment  for  the  p^issage  of 
forces  and  their  modulations,  of  whatever  kind.  The  elec- 
trical agitation  of  the  sun  is  at  once  discernible  upon  the 
electric  element  of  the  earth,  and,  without  doubt,  in 
like  manner  affects  other  planetary  centers.  And  so 
reciprocally.  Beyond  the  reach  of  our  physical  percep- 
tion, save  in  extreme  instances,  the  measureless  fields 
of  spaces  are  strung  in  infinite  variety  of  ways,  by  the 
lines  of  planetary  and  stellar  intercourse. 

Finding  this  fact  prevalent  throughout  the  mineral 
domain,  and  rigidly  the  law  in  respect  to  all  its  forms 
and  phases,  it  is  to  be  judged  possible,  at  least,  that  an 
analogous  relation  is  sustained  between  the  individuals 
of  the  living  and  mental  element.  The  two  orders  of 
existence,  though  never  the  same,  are  seen  to  be  so  far 
in  harmony  with  each  other  as  to  have  the  law  of  force 
in  common ;  and  there  subsists  between  the  individuals 
of  each,  the  fact  of  sympathy.  The  sympathy  in  each 
domain  is  in  respect  to  properties  of  being,  according 
to  which  their  several  elements  deport  themselves  and 
develop  their  phenomena.  In  the  mineral  it  is  mani- 
fest mainly  in  the  induction  of  chemical  changes  by 
varying  the  measures  of  force,  which  results  in  more  or 
less  influence  on  the  general  aspect  of  nature.  But  the 
spectroscope  reveals  the  fact  that  even  the  special  forms 
of  substances  are  communicated  on  this  plane.  In  the 
living  and  mental,  the  distinguishing  properties  are  of 
thought  and  of  feeling,  in  the  wide  use  of  these  terms. 
At  least  the  main  bond  of  sympathy  between  intelligent 
individuals  is  in  respect  to  these  properties.    When  intel- 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOELDS.  299 

ligence  and  feeling  are  absent  .from  an  object,  our  sym- 
pathy with  it  is  quite  impossible.  Besides,  for  the 
individual  who  is  the  embodiment  of  these  properties, 
there  is  a  substantial  attachment — an  actual  drawing 
force, — as  literally  as  is  that  which  impels  one  magnet 
upon  another. 

That  this  affection  is  not  in  respect  to  the  externa! 
body,  is  duly  apparent  in  the  fact  that  when  the  body 
has  generally  fallen  away,  and  what  of  it  remains  is  an 
object  of  disgust  and  wholly  repellent,  the  sympathy 
not  alone  but  even  the  affection  remains  in  full  strength, 
and  often  attains  to  increased  ardor.  The.  attractive 
powers  of  the  physical  person  are  but  of  the  real  being 
within  portrayed  through  it,  to  whom  it  is  an  instru- 
ment of  more  or  less  pleasing  finish  and  graceful  plia- 
bility. The  exciting  influence — the  real  magnet  drawing 
upon  Self,  directing  the  attention  upon  the  external  form 
on  which  the  realizing  senses  are  lodged — is  within  the 
casket,  beyond  the  sensuous  domain. 

The  mental  element,  though  by  interlying  forces  joined 
therewith,  as  pronunently  seen  in  the  union  of  body  and 
mind,  while  not  being  identical  with  the  mineral,  is  still  by 
this  common  law  of  force,  impossible  to  be  without  a  re- 
ciprocal relation  of  its  individual  centers,  by  way  of  its 
own  special  substance  in  atmosphere,  and  wholly  un- 
connected with  external  means  of  intercourse.  And  this 
reciprocity  or  intercourse  can  be  only  of  the  evolution 
of  its  functional  properties,  which  mainly,  if  not  wholly, 
consist  of  thoughts  and  feelings.  It  is,  then,  unavoid- 
able, where  confidence  is  placed  in  the  fixedness  and 


300  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

unity  of  natural  law  throughout  its  several  systems  of 
being,  that  independent  of  the  customary  avenues  of  ex- 
ternal intercourse,  there  is  some  measure  of  intercourse 
or  communication  of  states  of  mind  and  of  feeling 
taking  place  between  individual  lives.  But  the  over- 
powering glare  of  external  realization,  from  the  very 
nature  of  it,  tends  to  divert  from  the  use  of  this  mode 
of  intercourse  and  to  obscure  the  realization  of  it  when 
taking  place. 

Expectant  attention,  monopolizing  the  main  energies 
of  the  mind  devoted  to  intercourse,  is  constantly  em- 
ployed in  receiving  and  sending  dispatches  by  this  route. 
When  an  impulse  of  the  mind  takes  place  in  respect  to 
another,  it  is,  as  the  most  practical  way,  at  once  dis- 
patched through  the  organism.  But  a  small  percentage 
of  thought  is  by  impulse  directed  to  the  abstract  mind 
of  another  in  the  manner  that  occurs,  for  example,  in 
mental  prayer.  And  were  it  done  with  a  force  quite 
sufficient  to  excite  recognition  in  an  adjacent  mind  in  a 
quiescent  state  and  expectant  of  it,  such  conditions  are 
rarely  found  in  a  state  where  the  senses  are  at  all  times 
so  overpowered  by  glaring  external  phenomena  as  is 
common  to  man's  earthly  life. 

ATTITUDE     OF     SCIENTIFIC     MEN. 

So  difficult  does  this  appear,  and  so  unlike  common 
phenomena,  that  usually  the  most  conservative  and  safe 
of  scientific  men  are  found  discrediting  the  claim  of 
mind  directly  influencing  mind  independent  of  the  or- 
ganism.    And  here,  on  account  of  the  reading  public 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  301 

being  more  generally  familiar  with  his  works,  and  being 
at  the  same  time  first-class  authority  of  many  years' 
standing  among  the  highest  professional  men,  I  again 
limit  my  references  mainly  to  Prof.  Wm.  B.  Carpenter, 
not  forgetting  that  others  are  equally  worthy.  The  ex- 
perimental evidence  is  usually  put  under  the  head  of 
Mesmerism  or  Hypnotism.  In  his  recent  work  on  Men- 
tal Physiology,  he  makes  this  strong  statement,  which 
he  rigidly  adheres  to  throughout : 

"  The  writer  does  not  hesitate  to  express  the  convic- 
tion, based  on  long,  protracted,  and  careful  examination 
of  the  evidence  adduced  to  prove  the  existence  of  a 
mesmeric  force  acting  independently  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  'subject,'  that  there  is  none  that  possesses 
the  least  claim  to  acceptance  as  scientific  truth.  *  * 
It  has  been  repeatedly  found  that  mesmerizers  who  had 
no  hesitation  in  asserting  that  they  could  send  partic- 
ular individuals  to  sleep,  or  affect  them  in  other  ways 
by  an  effort  of  *  silent  will,'  have  altogether  failed  to  do 
so  when  the  subjects  were  carefully  kept  from  any  suspicion 
that  such  will  was  being  exercised;  whilst,  on  the  other 
hand,  sensitive  subjects  have  repeatedly  gone  to  sleep 
under  the  impression  that  they  were  being  mesmerized  from 
a  distance,  when  the  supposed  mesmerizer  was  not  even 
thinking  of  them  "  (p.  619). 

These  statements  he  has  fortified  by  a  variety  of  care- 
ful, thorough  and  fair  meaning  tests  which  resulted  in 
the  failures  he  speaks  of.  But  in  some  of  these  exper- 
iments there  was  possibly  a  violation  of  at  least  one 
proper  and  very  important  condition.  The  case  he  cites 
from  the  trial  investigations  of  Dr.  Noble,  of  Manches- 


302  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

ter,  as  being  an  example  of  the  proper  precaution  to  be 
taken,  and  the  one  he  places  foremost  as  such,  is  faulty 
in  this  very  particular.  The  experiment  by  Dr.  Noble, 
narrated  by  himself,  is  as  follows : 

"  An  intelligent  and  well-educated  friend  had  a  female 
servant,  whom  he  had  repeatedly  thrown  into  a  sleep- 
waking  state,  and  on  whom  he  had  tried  a  variety  of  ex- 
periments, many  of  which  we  ourselves  witnessed.  We 
were  at  length  informed  that  he  had  succeeded  in  mag- 
netizing her  from  another  room,  and  without  her  knowl- 
edge ;  that  he  had  paralyzed  particular  limbs  by  a  fixed 
gaze,  unseen  by  the  patient ;  and  we  hardly  know  what 
besides.  These  things  were  circumstantially  related  to  us 
by  many  eye-witnesses ;  amongst  others,  by  the  medical 
attendant  of  the  family,  a  most  respectable  and  intel- 
ligent friend  of  our  own.  We  were  yet  unsatisfied ;  we 
considered  that  these  experiments  were  so  constantly 
going  on,  that  the  presence  of  a  visitor,  or  the  occur- 
rence of  anything  unusual,  was  sure  to  excite  expecta- 
tion of  some  mesmeric  process.  We  were  invited  to 
come  and  judge  for  ourselves,  and  to  propose  whatever 
test  we  pleased.  Now,  had  we  visited  the  house,  we 
should  have  felt  dissatisfied  with  the  result ;  we,  there- 
fore, proposed  that  the  experiment  should  be  carried  out 
at  our  own  residence ;  and  it  was  made  under  the  following 
circumstances : — The  gentleman  early  one  evening  wrote 
a  note,  as  if  on  business,  directing  it  to  ourselves.  He 
thereupon  summoned  the  female  servant  (the  mesmeric 
subject),  requesting  her  to  convey  the  note  to  its  desti- 
nation, and  wait  for  an  answer.  The  gentleman  him- 
self, in  her  hearing,  ordered  a  cab,  stating  that  if  any 
one  called  he  was  going  to  a  place  named,  but  was  ex- 


THE    BELATION   OF    THE    T^YO    WOKLBS.         303 

pected  to  return  by  a  certain  hour.  Whilst  the  female 
servant  was  dressing  for  her  errand,  the  master  placed 
himself  in  the  vehicle,  and  rapidly  arrived  at  our  dwell- 
ing. In  about  ten  minutes  afterward  the  note  arrived, 
the  gentleman  in  the  meantime  being  secreted  in  an  ad- 
joining apartment.  We  requested  the  young  woman, 
who  had  been  shown  into  our  study,  to  take  a  seat 
whilst  we  wrote  the  answer ;  at  the  same  time  placing  the 
chair  with  its  back  to  the  door  leading  into  the  next  room, 
which  was  left  ajar.  It  had  been  agreed  that  after  the 
admission  of  the  girl  into  the  place  where  we  were,  the 
magnetizer,  approaching  the  door  in  silence  on  the  other 
side,  should  commence  operations.  There,  then,  was 
the  patient,  or  *  subject'  placed  within  two  feet  of  her 
magnetizer, — a  door  only  intervening,  and  that  but 
partially  closed, — ^but  she,  all  the  while,  perfectly  free 
from  all  idea  of  what  was  going  on.  We  were  careful 
to  avoid  any  unnecessary  conversation  with  the  girl,  or 
even  to  look  toward  her,  lest  we  should  raise  some  sus- 
picion in  her  own  mind.  We  wrote  our  letter  (as  if  in 
answer)  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  once  or  twice 
only  making  an  indifferent  remark;  and  on  leaving 
the  room  for  a  light  to  read  the  supposed  letter,  we 
beckoned  the  operator  away.  No  effect,  whatever,  had 
been  produced,  although  we  had  been  told  that  two  or 
three  minutes  were  sufficient,  even  when  mesmerizing 
from  the  drawing-room,  through  walls  and  apartments, 
into  the  kitchen.  In  our  own  experiment  the  interven- 
ing distance  had  been  very  much  less,  and  only  one  solid 
substance  interposed,  and  that  not  complete ;  but  here 
we  suspect  was  the  difference — the  'subject*  was  uncon- 
scious of  the  magnetism  and  suspected  nothing  "  (Mental 
Physiology,  pp.  619,  620). 


304  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Not  all  temperaments  are  influenced  alike  by  the  same 
circumstances.  The  Dr.  himself  (and  so  Prof.  Car- 
penter) may  have  seen  an  applicant  for  promotion  be- 
come non-plused  and  utterly  fail  in  the  presence  of  a 
severely  critical  and  exacting  examining  committee,  who 
under  casual  circumstances  would  have  promptly  suc- 
ceeded in  every  test.  The  tendency  of  such  circum- 
stances as  those  above  given,  with  the  average  individual 
as  operator  or  as  subject,  would  be  to  impair  or  to  de- 
stroy about  the  first  requisite  condition  of  mind  on 
which  the  successful  operation  depended, — in  the  oper- 
ator that  of  undiverted  strong  concentration  of  purpose, 
and  on  the  part  of  the  subject,  undiverted  indifference 
or  expectancy.  The  influence  of  mind  immediately 
upon  mind  is,  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  more  difficult 
than  by  way  of  the  open  senses ;  and  the  excitement  of 
operating  under  a  critical  test  and  under  conditions  of 
special  anxiety,  as  seems  evident  in  this  case,  might  have 
been  so  much  to  the  operator's  disadvantage  as  to  cause 
his  failure  therey  when  the  same  effort  made  under  pas- 
sive surroundings  might  have  been  promptly  successful. 
The  subject,  too,  was  under  less  favorable  conditions  than 
in  her  familiar  and  unconstrained  surroundings  at  home. 
One  sick  away  at  the  residence  of  a  most  kind  and  free- 
hearted neighbor,  will,  for  the  same  reason,  not  do  as 
well  as  at  home,  though  of  less  comfortable  appoint- 
ment. While,  therefore,  the  precautionary  arrangements 
were  truly  well  calculated  to  insure  failure,  they  were 
equally  well  calculated  to  defeat  the  real  ends  of  science. 
And  these  gentlemen  of  eminence.  Dr.  Noble  in  exact- 


THE   BELATION   OF   THE    TWO  WORLDS.        305 

ing  these  conditions  and  Prof.  Carpenter  in  endorsing 
them,  were  therein  unscientific.  The  same  objection 
applies  to  many  of  the  tests  reported  by  Mr.  Carpenter, 
Mr.  Braid,  Mr.  Noble  and  others.  A  fair  test  will  have 
great  care  to  respect  mental  conditions.  It  is  not  to  be 
conducted  as  one  of  physical  mechanism  or  of  mere  bone 
and  muscle,  without  regard  to  sensitiveness. 

May  not,  then,  this  "intelligent  and  well-educated 
friend  "  have  been  defeated  unfairly ;  and  possibly  with- 
out himself  knowing  to  what  the  failure  was  due  ?  And 
may  not  what  he  and  others  reported  as  examples  of 
mesmerizing  through  intervening  walls  and  apartments,, 
after  all,  have  really  been  as  claimed  ?  From  the  ac- 
count it  is  to  be  judged  that  essentially  the  same  pre- 
cautions against  giving  the  subject  an  occasion  ii> 
expect  anything,  were  taken  at  home.  His  qualification 
is  endorsed,  and  the  veracity  of  the  "  friend  "  is  to  be 
assumed.  And  so,  probably,  after  all,  the  professor  gives 
us  real  cases  of  mind  operating  on  mind  independent  of 
the  senses,  in  the  illustrations  set  forth  in  opposition  to 
the  theory. 

IMPORTANT   INSTANCES    OP   MIND   IMPRESSING   MINIK. 

But  the  same  persons  are  not  always  equally  avail- 
able for  the  phenomena,  under  the  same  circumstance, 
any  more  than  that  one  should  always  be  in  the  same 
state  of  health.  Neither  are  races  alike  in  this  respect,  as 
also  in  many  others.  Among  Europeans  it  is  only  here 
and  there  one  who  is  prominently  a  subject,  while 
among  the  Orientals  the  subjects  are  much  more  nu- 

20 


30(3  COInSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

merous  and  much  more  susceptible — available  for  more 
profound  depths  of  mesmeric  sleep,  being  more  sensitive 
to  mental  impressions.  In  India,  for  example,  this  tem- 
peramental state  is  much  more  prevalent  and  pro- 
nounced, and  the  illustrations  are  more  extraordinary. 
Among  Europeans  now  and  then  a  case  is  reported  of 
surgery  without  pain,  under  mesmerism,  prior  to  the  in- 
troduction of  ether.  In  1829,  M.  Cloquet,  one  of  the 
most  eminent  surgeons  of  Paris,  performed  a  severe  op- 
eration on  a  female  patient  who  had  been  thrown  by 
mesmerism  into  a  state  of  somnambulism.  In  the  op- 
eration she  showed  herself  entirely  insensible  to  pain, 
whilst  "  of  all  that  took  place  in  it  she  had  subsequently 
no  recollection."  In  addition  to  this.  Prof.  Carpenter 
observes  that  about  twelve  years  afterward  two  ampu- 
tations were  performed  in  England,  one  in  Nottingham- 
shire and  the  other  in  Leicestershire,  "  upon  mesmerized 
patients,  who  showed  no  other  sign  of  consciousness 
than  an  almost  inaudible  moaning ;  both  of  them  ex- 
hibiting an  uninterrupted  placidity  of  countenance; 
both  of  them  declaring,  when  brought  back  to  their  or- 
dinary state,  that  they  were  utterly  unaware  of  what 
had  been  done  to  them  during  their  sleep^"  (Mesmerism 
and  Spiritualism,  p.  14).  About  the  same  time,  while 
a  few  cases  thus  here  and  there  were  reported  in  Eu- 
rope and  England,  Dr.  Esdaile,  a  surgeon  of  the  British 
service  in  Calcutta,  was  employing  it  upon  Indian  pa- 
tients with  about  the  regularity  that  ether  is  now  em- 
ployed ;  in  consideration  of  which  the  governor-general 
conferred  upon  him  the  rank  of    presidency-surgeon. 


THE    KELATION   OF    THE    TWO    WOBLDS.         307 

Under  the  influence  of  mesmerism  he  performed  some 
of  the  most  severe  operations  in  the  history  of  surgery, 
during  which  the  patients  were  entirely  unconscious. 
One  of  these,  the  removal  of  a  tumor  from  the  face  of 
a  peasant,  forty  years  old,  he  relates  as  follows : 

"  In  half  an  hour,  the  man  was  catalepsed.  *  * 
I  put  a  long  knife  in  at  the  comer  of  the  mouth,  and 
brought  the  point  out  over  the  cheek  bone,  dividing  the 
parts  between ;  from  this,  I  pushed  it  through  the  skin 
at  the  inner  comer  of  the  eye  and  dissected  the  cheek 
back  to  the  nose.  The  pressure  of  the  tumor  had  caused 
the  absorption  of  the  anterior  wall  of  the  antrum,  and 
pressing  my  fingers  between  it  and  the  bones,  it  burst, 
and  a  shocking  gush  of  blood  and  brain-like  matter 
followed.  The  tumor  extended  as  far  as  my  fingers 
could  reach  under  the  orbit  and  cheek  bone,  and 
passed  into  the  gullet — having  destroyed  the  bones  and 
partition  of  the  nose.  No  one  touched  the  man,  and  I 
turned  his  head  into  any  position  I  desired,  without  re- 
sistance, and  there  it  remained  till  I  wished  to  move  it 
again:  when  the  blood  accumulated  I  bent  his  head 
forward,  and  it  ran  from  his  mouth  as  if  from  a  leaden 
spout.  The  man  never  moved  nor  showed  any  signs  of 
life,  except  an  occasional  indistinct  moan;  but  when 
I  threw  back  his  head,  and  passed  my  fingers  into 
his  throat  to  detach  the  mass  in  that  direction,  the 
stream  of  blood  was  directed  into  his  windpipe,  and 
some  instinctive  effort  became  necessary  for  existence ; 
he  therefore  coughed,  and  leaned  forward,  to  get  rid  of 
the  blood ;  and  I  supposed  that  he  then  awoke.  The  op- 
eration was  by  this  time  finished,  and  he  was  laid  on 
the  floor  to  have  his  face  sewed  up,  and  while  this  was 


303  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

doing,  he,  for  the  first  time,  opened  his  eyes.      *      * 
The  man  declares  by  the  most  emphatic  pantomime, 
that  he  felt  no  pain  while  in  the  chair,  and  that  when 
he  awoke  I  was  sewing  up  his  face  on  the  floor  "  (Mes- 
merism in  India,  pp.  147,  148). 

Not  only  is  the  availability  of  this  race  for  mesmerism 
well  shown  in  the  experiences  of  this  celebrated  surgeon, 
but  it  is  related,  on  good  authority,  that  some  of  their 
fakirs,  by  a  process  of  self-mesmerism,  are  enabled  to 
so  completely  suspend  the  vital  forces  as  to  safely  allow 
of  being  buried  for  weeks,  and  then  be  exhumed  and  re- 
stored. Prof.  Carpenter  relates,  on  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Braid  of  Manchester,  who  obtained  his  information 
directly  from  British  officers,  who  had  been  eye-wit- 
nesses of  them  in  India,  several  instances,  as  follows : 

"  In  one  of  these,  vouched  for  by  Sir  Claude  H.  Wade 
(formerly  political  agent  at  the  court  of  Kunjeet  Singh), 
the  fakir  was  buried  in  an  underground  cell,  under 
strict  guardianship,  for  six  weeks;  the  body  had  been 
twice  dug  up  by  Kunjeet  Singh  during  the  period  of  in- 
terment, and  had  been  found  in  the  same  position  as 
when  first  buried. 

"In  the  other  case,  narrated  by  Lieut.  Boileau,  in 
Ms  'Narrative  of  a  Journey  in  Kajwarra,'  in  1835, 
the  man  had  been  buried  for  ten  days,  in  a  grave 
lined  with  masonry  and  covered  with  large  slabs  of 
stone,  and  strictly  guarded;  and  he  assured  Lieut. 
Boileau,  that  he  was  ready  to  submit  to  an  interment 
of  twelve  months'  duration,  if  desired.  In  the  third 
case,  narrated  by  Mr.  Braid,  the  trial  was  made  under 
the  direct  superintendence  of  a  British  officer,  a  period  of 


THE    BELATION    OF  THE    TWO    WORLDS.         309 

niue  days  having  been  stipulated  for  on  the  part  of  the 
devotee ;  hut  this  was  shortened  to  three  at  the  desire 
of  the  officer,  who  feared  lest  he  should  incur  blame  if 
the  result  was  fatal.  The  appearance  of  the  body  when 
first  disinterred,  is  described  in  all  instances  as  having 
been  quite  corpse-like,  and  no  pulsation  could  be  de- 
tected in  the  heart  or  in  the  arteries"  (Pin.  Human  Phys. 
pp.  868,  869). 

A  writer  in  Scribner's  Monthly  for  Dec.  1880,  gives 
a  very  full  and  interesting  account  of  these  death-like 
sleeps  achieved  by  self-mesmerism,  which  are  rarely,  if 
ever,  achieved  by  any  other  people.  With  them  it  is  of 
traditional  antiquity. 

Dr.  Esdaile  derived  from  his  experience  with  this 
people  the  fact  that  the  mesmeric  influence  can  be 
transmitted  through  the  air  for  a  considerable  distance, 
and  even  pass  through  dense  materials.  An  experiment 
of  this  kind  was  made  substantially  as  follows : 

A  blind  prisoner  who  was  barely  able  to  distinguish 
light  from  darkness  was  the  subject.  Operating  upon 
him  for  ten  minutes  from  without  through  the  window, 
he  was  rendered  insensible  and  slept  for  more  than  two 
hours.  At  another  time,  at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards 
from  him,  wholly  unknown  by  him  as  to  his  presence, 
after  operating  on  him  for  fifteen  minutes  he  was  over- 
powered and  fell  from  his  seat  unconscious, — ^was  car- 
ried to  his  bed  and  slept  three  hours,  at  the  end  of 
which  wondering  how  he  came  there.  At  another  time 
he  directed  his  sub-assistant  surgeon  to  proceed  to  the 
jail  and  place  the  man  with  his  face  toward  the  wall, 


310  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

but  not  touching  it,  and  take  care  not  to  excite  his  at- 
tention to  the  matter,  and  keep  him  engaged  in  con- 
versation. Dr.  Esdaile  placed  himself  opposite  to  him 
on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  leaning  his  forehead 
against  it,  and  after  several  attempts,  at  the  end  of  sev- 
enteen minutes  the  subject  ceased  to  reply  in  conversa- 
tion and  presently  fell  back  like  one  dead. 

Now  if  we  may  place  reliance  on  these  statements 
(and  if  we  may  not,  on  what  statements  may  we?) 
made  by  competent  and  careful  men,  who  share  our 
largest  confidence  as  men  of  learning  and  candor,  what 
disposition  is  to  be  made  of  these  facts  ?  It  is  to  be 
remembered,  also,  that  claims  of  observation  of  like 
facts,  by  people  of  superior  attainment  and  unquestion- 
able veracity,  could,  in  considerable  numbers,  be  added  to 
these,  from  various  sources.  The  only  solution  that 
seems  legitimate  is  that  a  mind  projected  its  impulses 
upon  a  neighboring  mind,  by  a  medium  not  recognized 
by  the  external  senses,  and  that  the  impulses  were  sus- 
ceptible of  being  directed  sieparately  upon  a  line  or 
route  to  the  object  mentally  indicated,  and  upon  leav- 
ing the  mind  did  not  become  indiscriminately  diffused 
upon  all  surrounding  objects.  The  subject  intended, 
alone,  and  not  any  of  his  associates,  was  thus  ajffect- 
ed.  The  facts  supply  sensuous  proof  of  the  most  un- 
questionable character,  that,  as  already  seen  by  other 
facts,  individual  minds  are  related  and  hold  some 
measure  of  correspondence  by  means  of  an  interly- 
ing,  passive,  mental  medium;  upon  quite  the  same 
principle,    that  one   magnet,  by  means  of    a   passive 


THE    RELATION  OF    THE    TWO  WORLDS.         311 

ether  of  essentially  the  same  element,  exerts  force  upon 
another.  Now,  in  the  exertion  of  force  by  one  magnet 
upon  another,  intervening  substances  may  be  directly 
or  sympathetically  affected  by  the  passing  current,  and, 
so  far  as  they  are  identical  in  substance  with  the  magnets 
themselves,  become  its  vehicle.  The  gleam  that  under 
,  favorable  circumstances  is  seen  emitted  between  poles, 
•'  the  partial  visibility  of  the  earth's  magnetic  phenomena, 
in  what  are  known  as  "  northern  lights, "  caused  by  im- 
pingement of  plying  forces  upon  suitable  elements  of  the 
adjacent  atmosphere,  may  be  suggested  as  examples  of 
the  working  of  this  law.  Yet  no  one  will  fail  to  see 
that,  primarily,  the  plying  force  is  purely  between  and 
relative  to  the  magnets  themselves. 

So  in  the  correspondence  between  minds,  in  this  in- 
dependent manner,  though  inferior  elements  between, 
including  those  of  the  bodily  organisms,  may  be  influ- 
enced thereby,  and  be  made  instruments  of  achieving 
the  mesmeric  state,  it  will  be  apparent  still  that  the  force 
is  primarily  and  purely  that  of  mind  upon  mind,  in  the 
so-called  mesmeric  phenomena. 

INSPIRATION. 

Being  founded  on  a  law  of  mind  that  cannot  be  less 
than  universally  operative,  this  mode  of  intercourse,  sub- 
ject to  weakening,  aberrating,  and  obscuring  influences, 
as  we  have  observed  in  the  case  of  our  present  existence, 
must  be  found  in  vogue  with  mind  of  the  same  order  or 
in  so  far  as  the  order  is  the  same,  in  whatever  mode  or 
altitude  of  being.  And  from  what  has  been  to  some 
extent  seen,  all  intervening  conditions  are  permeable 


312  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

by  it  with  more  or  less  effectiveness.  The  mind  of  the 
blind  man  was  forcibly  impressed  by  a  neighboring  mind 
of  whose  presence  he  had  no  knowledge  whatever.  And 
the  operator  had  set  aside  all  his  own  senses,  save  that 
of  hearing,  which  was  of  but  indirect  service,  by  inter- 
posing a  wall,  at  the  time  of  delivering  the  impression. 
There  is,  then,  very  little  difference  to  be  accounted  for 
between  this  state  of  things  and  what  would  have  been 
if  one  of  them  had  been  out  of  the  body  and  the 
other  in  or  only  partly  in,  or  where  neither  had  been  in 
the  body.  The  operator  had  a  slight  external  means — 
rather  a  suggestion — by  which  to  direct  the  impression, 
— a  reverberation  of  the  subject's  voice  and  a  confident 
memory  of  his  position  as  seen  previous  to  operating, 
and  these  were  probably  of  no  real  necessity,  more  than 
to  stimulate  assurance.  It  is  not  stated  and  is  not  likely, 
that  exact  measurements  were  taken  so  that  the  men- 
tally erected  line  should  rest  directly  on  the  subject. 
The  place  of  the  subject  was  only  approximately  known. 
The  direction  was  evidently  secured  by  some  form  of 
sympathy  attained  from  previous  personal  knowledge, 
or  by  a  mental  definition  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
subject;  as  when  while  we  think  of  a  person  we  uncon- 
sciously picture  him  to  mind.  The  mode  is  unknown 
and  only  a  matter  of  curiosity.  The  fact  of  the  trans- 
mitted control  in  these  conditions,  alone  is  important, 
and  goes  far,  if  not  conclusively,  to  prove,  by  external 
means,  that  minds  need  not  reside  in  the  same  order  of 
senses  nor  in  the  same  world,  to  be  impressible,  though 
vaguely  it  may  be,  one  by  the  other. 


THE  RELATION  OF    THE    TWO    WORLDS.         313 

It  also  is  seen  to  be  a  feature  of  this  law  that  the 
greater  the  attainment  of  the  mind — the  greater  its  al- 
titude— the  more  influence  may  it  exert  and  the  more 
control  may  it  assume,  directly  or  indirectly.  The  re- 
fined and  otherwise  highly  attained  mind  may  not  for 
the  hour  visibly  wield  a  control  over  the  wild,  unthink- 
ing masses,  equal  to  that  of  the  more  coarse  and  low, 
but  in  the  years  its  power  will  be  seen  to  have  been  the 
greater, — more  strong  and  enduring,  and  hence  more 
achieving. 

The  influence  of  the  more  attained  mind  upon  lower 
minds,  in  this  Way,  is  not  only  more  strong  than  that 
which  may  be  returned  upon  it  from  them,  but  it  seizes 
with  a  stronger  grasp  and  transforms  more  rapidly  the 
physical  materials  employed  in  its  organism.  It  erects 
more  lines  of  brain  and  other  nerve  fiber,  and  breaks 
more  down.  With  the  greater  wear  and  tear  of  the  or- 
ganism, the  average  life-time  of  the  higher  intellect  is 
yet  longer  than  that  gf  the  lower ;  which  is  another  in- 
stance illustrating  the  law  that  with  the  more  exalted 
minds  and  realms  of  mind,  is  the  major  control  and  the 
more  wide-reaching  influence. 

SEAT    OF   INFINITE    POWER   AND    INFLUENCE. 

And  thus  may  we  prolong  the  vision  upward,  eleva- 
tion over  elevation,  till  in  the  supremely  exalted  mind 
of  the  Deity  himself  we  see  vested  the  final  supremacy 
of  power,  and  the  prerogative  of  an  infinitely  extended 
influence  upon  all  the  realms  of  being,  down  to  their 
last   details.     The   descent  of  this  influence  must   be 


314  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

supposed  to  take  place  by  essentially  the  same  law 
which,  from  this  Mind  proceeding,  animates  all  others  of 
rational  and  moral  qualities.  It  would,  also,  be  from 
the  promptings  to  good,  incident  to  a  feeling,  rational 
intelligence ;  which  promptings  would  always  be  charac- 
terized by  the  absolutely  perfect  wisdom  that  can  be- 
long to  that  state  and  being  alone.  Then,  in  case  the 
state  of  finite  beings  might  be  truly  requiring  acts  of 
direct  correspondence  from  Him,  such  as  consciously  or 
unconsciously  imparting  elements  of  wisdom,  or  of 
foresight,  or  by  temporal  interpositions  of  any  kind, 
no  fact  in  nature  would  be  more  probable,  more  reason- 
able and  scientific  than  that  such  inspiration  or  inter- 
position should  take  place. 

To  what  extent  like  inspirations  between  finite  fellow 
beings  may  be  taking  place  throughout  the  infinite  ranges, 
is  at  present  unimportant.  But  as  in  all  states  or 
worlds  finite  beings  necessarily  exist  embodied  in  organ- 
isms of  external  senses,  suited  to  surrounding  nature, 
it  may  always  be,  as  here,  the  less  common  mode  of 
intercourse. 

LIFE  IS  FILLED   WITH  INSTANCES   OF   PECULIAR   IMPRESSIONS. 

The  obscuration  of  this  mode  of  intercourse  by  the 
glaring  realities  of  the  sensuous  state,  has  been  referred 
to.  Still  life  is  more  or  less  filled  with  peculiar  im- 
pressions, sometimes  of  great  importance,  that  are  un- 
accounted for  by  ordinary  facts — even  by  recourse  to 
spasmodic  brain  movements.     For  example,  there  are 


THE    RELATION  OF    THE    TWO    WORLDS.         315 

impressions  more  or  less  common  of  some  coming  ex- 
ternal matter  of  interest,  which  in  due  time  transpires. 
At  least  there  is  a  correspondence  of  particulars  between 
the  impression  and  what  subsequently  comes  to  pass. 
This  could  not  well  be  the  result  of  brain  action.  Is  it  not, 
indeed,  necessary  that  such  should  be  referred  to  this 
mode  of  intercourse,  from  a  mind  situated  so  as  to  see 
farther  into  cause  anct  effect  ?  And  if  these,  then  may 
not  others  also;  though  their  explanation  might  be 
possible  by  another  theory.  If  we  were  obliged  to  sense 
our  experiences  more  closely,  resulting  in  greater  acute- 
ness  and  discrimination,  we  might  expect  a  proportionate 
accumulation  of  this  kind  of  evidence, — from  the  faint 
glimmer  of  a  detached,  peculiar  sensation  of  thought  to 
the  glaring,  overpowering  inspiration  of  a  Hebrew 
prophet. 

PEOPLE   VARY   IN   AVAILABILITY   FOR   THIS   PHENOMENA. 

It  has  been  observed  that  races  are  not  alike  suscep- 
tible in  all  things.  The  same  class  of  facts  pertaining 
to  human  nature  we  might  find  less  common  and  less 
prominent  in  one  nationality  than  in  another.  Eaces  of 
equal  attainment  are  not  abreast  in  poetry,  history,  in 
science,  and  in  art.  One  would  be  regarded  as  unwise 
to  study  sculpture  or  painting  from  the  German  schools ; 
or  chemistry  from  the  Italian;  or  history  from  the 
French ;  or  fine  arts  from  the  English.  So  he  should 
not  be  expected  to  study  the  principles  of  architecture 
from  the  Jewish  race,  nor  those  of  inspiration  from  the 


316  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

European.  And  yet  in  the  study  of  this  subject  by  a  Euro- 
pean, nothing  were  more  probable  than  that  his  own  race, 
and  perhaps  his  own  experiences,  would  be  the  chief  source 
from  which  to  collect  his  facts — a  race  in  whose  entire 
history  from  barbarism  up,  less  phenomena  of  this 
character  has  been  alleged  than  has  been  alleged 
of  any  other  people.  But  from  what  is  authentically 
known  of  them,  it  is  safe  to  judge  that  if  the  facts  of  in- 
dividual life  experiences  of  the  great  Hebrew  race  could 
be  recovered  in  essential  particulars  as  they  occurred,  it 
would  be  found  a  field  immensely  rich  in  instances  of 
most  striking  illustrations  of  the  law  of  inspiration  as 
here  set  forth.  No  race  has  displayed  to  historic  view 
evidence  of  as  much  and  as  unquestionable  inspirational 
phenomena  as  has  this,  at  one  time  for  twenty  consecu- 
tive centuries  the  most  pure  and  influential  race  on  the 
planet. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

Questions  Concerning  the  Eelation  op  the  Two 
Worlds,  Continued. — Difficulties  Necessarily  At- 
tending THE  Transmission  of  Thought. — They  Be- 
come MORE  Formidable  between  Kesidents  of  the 
Two  Worlds. 

THE  difficulties  attending  the  transmission  of  thought, 
though  numerous  in  detail,  are  few  in  class.  They 
arise  mainly  out  of  individual  obliquity  from  unequal 
development  of  functional  forces,  resulting  in  unintelli- 
gible constructions  of  thought ;  or,  if  it  be  the  recipient, 
in  defective  modes  of  their  apprehension.  Or  they  arise 
out  of  individual  unlikeness,  one  to  another ;  out  of  un- 
likeness  of  their  surroundings ;  or  out  of  the  unavaila- 
bility of  intervening  substances,  as  to  their  properties 
or  state  of  arrangement.  These  causes,  of  course,  com- 
bine in  endless  variety  of  ways.  Probably  no  instance 
of  misunderstanding  is  due  to  one  cause  alone. 

We  often  find  people  having  quite  nearly  the  same 
general  appearance.  Yet  a  close  inspection  will  always 
bring  to  view  some  striking  differences.  So,  too,  with 
minds,  however  nearly  their  views  and  abilities  may  be 
the  same,  we  need  not  canvass  long  to  find  many  partic- 
ulars in  which  one  is  not  like  the  other.     It  is  often 

317 


318  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

remarked  with  more  meaning  than  is  apprehended,  that 
people  do  not  see  and  think  alike  from  the  fact  that 
themselves  are  not  alike.  Each  difference  in  confor- 
mation of  individual  mental  substance,  or  even  of  the 
physical  related  therewith,  stands  for  a  corresponding 
difference  in  the  mental  forces  and  in  the  results  they 
enact. 

Then  let  it  be  supposed  that  a  thought  is  evolved — 
has  been  brought  from  merely  nascent  impressions  into 
a  definite  mental  statement — and  is  addressed  to  a 
neighboring  mind.  By  the  mind  from  which  it  is 
evolved  it  is  now  also  being  seen, — it  has  become  to 
that  mind  itself  an  objective  reality,  prior  to  being  de- 
livered, as  truly  as  though  it  consisted  of  a  letter  or  a 
telegram.  But  the  thought  is  seen  by  the  apprehending 
powers  of  the  originator  as  it  stands  constructed  or  in- 
fluenced by  the  resident  mental  forces,  and  hence  by  a 
light  more  or  less  refracted,  and  possibly  not  as  it  really 
is — a  more  or  less  incorrect  representation  of  fact.  In- 
deed, in  the  process  of  its  evolving  it  was  advanced 
along  these  same  aberrated  lines  of  mental  vision  to  this 
final  state.  Then  between  what  Self  sees  it  to  mean, 
and  what  another  sees  it  to  mean,  there  may  be  quite  a 
difference.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  that  one  sees 
the  constructions  of  his  own  thoughts  conveying  differ- 
ent meanings  at  different  times.  Often  when  one  comes 
to  re-read  with  a  rested  mind  the  thoughts  put  down  in 
the  last  hours  of  a  day  of  hard  toil,  he  finds  them  not 
appearing  as  they  then  did.  The  explanation  is,  that 
the  weary  powers,  in  irregular  order,  were  sinking  down 


THE    RELATION   OF    THE    TWO    WORLDS.         319 

to  rest — to  replenish  overdrawn  forces — when  the  con- 
ceptions recorded  were  taking  place,  adding  at  each 
time  a  new  refraction.  There  is,  then,  trouble  at  what 
must  necessarily  be  the  very  first  step  in  the  transmis- 
sion of  thought.  For,  though  the  construction  might 
be  clothed  in  a  wording  perfectly  intelligible  to  both 
the  issuing  and  receiving  minds,  a  transmission  of  the 
sentiment  intended  were,  by  this  state  of  facts,  quite  im- 
possible ;  only  so  far  as  the  construction  were  a  true  ex- 
ponent thereof,  could  the  transmission  be  approximated. 
And  this,  again,  only  in  case  the  receiving  mind  were 
itself,  functionally,  in  exact  balance. 

But  if  such  a  state  of  mind  were  indeed  possible, 
it  would  be  the  most  extremely  rare.  And,  in  the 
proposed  transaction,  adding  to  the  mental  obliquity  of 
the  party  issuing  the  communication,  that,  also,  of  the 
receiving  party,  at  the  other  end  of  the  route,  would, 
plainly,  give  us  a  still  wider  misunderstanding  between 
the  two. 

Obliquity  in  the  same  degree  and  manner  in  both  in- 
dividuals, might  in  some  instances  contribute  to  the 
transfer  of  thought,  provided  surroundings  were  the 
same.  They  would  misconceive  in  the  same  manner, 
and  would  likely  have  their  aberrations  coincide,  and, 
thereby  seeing  upon  essentially  the  same  lines  of  vision, 
would  be  more  successful  in  apprehending  each  other's 
meanings.  From  this,  those  who  come  together  in  a 
sect  by  a  free  following  of  their  inclinations,  whether  in 
philosophy,  politics  or  religion,  are  more  likely  to  be 
able  to  transfer  to  each  other  their  exact  sentiments  on 


320  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

those  subjects.     And   to   this   fact  the  crystallization 
into  these  several  orders  of  society  is  mainly  due. 

Hence,  conversely,  in  the  unlikeness  of  individuals  to 
each  other  is  found  a  large  part  of  the  explanation  why 
they  do  not  more  fully  succeed  in  a  mutual  understand- 
ing over  these  dividing  lines.  Not  alone  are  they  affected 
by  obliquities  of  mind,  but  in  their  obliquities  they  are 
not  alike. 

Also,  surroundings  are  rarely  the  same,  to  any  con- 
siderable extent.  Then,  the  excitants  of  functions  not 
being  the  same  in  both,  to  some  extent  the  same  ob- 
liquity with  respect  to  each  other  must  follow  that 
follows  from  representation  of  unlike  functional  devel- 
opments. The  very  just  observation  is  often  made, 
based  on  this  fact,  that  one  may  not  be  wholly  able  to 
judge  of  another  who  is  not  in  the  same  circumstances 
with  him.  And  it  were,  indeed,  a  happy  thing  to  have  this 
charity  extended  to  other  conditions  of  like  inevitable 
misunderstandings,  out  of  which  for  want  of  this  charity 
so  many  alienations  rise.  With  difficulties  even  as  small 
as  these  in  the  way  of  fully  receiving  each  other's  mean- 
ing, and  the  readiness  with  which,  by  these  difficulties, 
misunderstandings  occur  through  the  lassitude  of 
thought  that  attaches  to  the  much  that  is  all  the  time 
being  said,  what  breadths  of  charity  are  not  indeed 
constantly  being  called  for. 

THE    INTERLYING    SUBSTANCES. 

From  this  brief  reference  to  the  difficulties  that  are 
constituted  in  the  very  structures  of  the  minds  them- 


THE  BELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  321 

selves,  we  proceed  to  consider  those  that  are  incidental 
to  the  substances  intervening  between  minds.  So  far 
as  relates  to  this  state  of  existence,  these  substances 
are  mainly  the  physical  elements  employed  in  the  or- 
ganisms of  the  external  body.  Plainly  these  organisms 
are  between  the  individual  minds.  All  this  embodiment 
— all  this  brain,  these  nerves  and  organs  of  sense,  con- 
stituted of  the  mineral  kingdom  and  extremely  foreign  to 
the  mental  element,  when  made  the  medium  of  inter- 
course, it  would  seem,  would  be  more  a  barrier  to  arrest 
intercourse  than  otherwise ;  as  iron,  wood  or  stone, 
when  interposed  between  water  and  its  destined  end, 
arrests  its  flow. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  here  again  go  over  the  ground  to 
show  that  mind  in  its  essential  nature  is  an  element 
separate  from  the  body, — ^that  the  body  is  an  instrument 
which  it  seizes  hold  of  and  lets  go  again,  in  a  large  part 
at  its  own  election, — ^that  in  its  devices  the  principles 
of  the  microscope,  telegraph  and  telephone,  etc.,  are  so 
fully  and  literally  employed  as  that  these  inventions  could 
well  have  been  suggested  by  an  accurate  understanding 
of  the  organism  and  the  mode  of  its  being  operated. 
The  fact  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that  the  substances  so 
employed  are  in  themselves  of  the  mineral  state,  and  as 
void  of  mind  or  of  mental  characteristics  as  is  a  line 
of  copper  wire,  and  serve  the  ends  of  their  employment 
in  quite  the  same  manner  as  does  the  wire  when  placed 
in  the  circuit.  Minds  in  approaching  each  other  in  in- 
tercourse by  way  of  the  external  senses  alone,  can  them- 
selves come  no  farther  than  the   bioplastic  cells   into 

21 


322  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

which  the  nerve  fibers  dip.  From  there  onward  to  the 
next  mind,  is  apparatus  alone,  supplemented  by  the  ele- 
ments, atmospheric  and  otherwise,  still  further  lying 
out  between  the  organisms  themselves. 

By  this  route,  then,  no  mind  sees,  hears,  or  otherwise 
knows  of  a  neighboring  mind,  only  as  impressions  come 
and  go  over  these  manifold  nerve-wires  in  and  out  by 
the  organs  of  sense.  Let  us  suppose  a  case.  Two  in- 
dividuals in  full  possession  of  their  faculties  are  en- 
gaged in  neighborly  intercourse.  They  are  casually 
sitting  or  standing  in  each  other's  presence.  What  is 
now  taking  place  ?  Literally,  there  is  a  direction  of  the 
senses — one  set  upon  another, — all  very  sensitively  alert. 
Conventional  sounds  and  gestures  are  proceeding,  by  a 
somewhat  regular  alternation,  from  each.  A  fluct- 
uating demeanor  of  countenance  is  seen  according 
to  how  the  communication  takes  effect  within,  or  as 
purposes  mature  and  get  into  readiness  for  deliverance. 
The  illustration  will,  perhaps,  be  rendered  more  forcible 
by  recalling  a  scene  of  intercourse  between  people  using 
a  speech  not  known  by  ourselves,  where  we  are  brought 
to  note  more  particularly  the  external  demeanor. 

This  half  pantomimic  representation  to  sensuous 
view,  is  the  physical  organisms  undergoing  the  process 
of  intercourse  between  the  two  veiled  minds  within.  Yet 
the  realization  of  the  fact  of  intercourse,  rendered  un- 
questionable by  recognition  of  the  many  evidences  of  com- 
mon thought  and  feeling,  quite  effectually  obscures  this 
mineral  aspect  of  the  case,  and  confounds  the  external 
person  with  the  real  self — renders,  to  casual  observa- 


THE    RELATION    OF    THE    TWO   WORLDS.         323 

tion, operator  and  apparatus  indistinguishably  the  same. 
The  real  facts  transpiring  are  that  these  neighboring 
minds  are  from  within  operating  their  organisms  in  this 
manner  in  delivering  messages  to  each  other,  mainly 
addressing  them  by  the  use  of  conventional  sounds  or 
oral  speech,  to  the  hearing  department  of  sense ;  while 
others  which  may  not  be  sent  that  way  may,  from  the 
legible  countenance  and  gesticulations,  be  directed  by 
way  of  the  light  to  the  seeing  department.  The  process, 
with  all  facilities  in  full  operation,  is  at  best  a  tedious 
and  slow  drill.  When  the  conception  is  of  some  length, 
often  much  of  what  in  the  order  of  transmission  comes 
last,  is  forgotten  in  substance  or  in  the  arrangement, 
while  what  goes  before  is  being  rattled  off.  The  flight 
of  an  impression  along  a  nerve  is  said  to  be  not  as 
rapid  as  that  of  the  eagle.  And  as  has  been  seen,  the 
mind  operates  much  more  rapidly  in  dreams,  when  less 
encumbered  by  the  organism,  than  in  the  waking  state* 

But  this  organism,  like  any  other  apparatus  or  in- 
strument, is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  liable  to  be 
faulty  and  to  do  its  work  imperfectly.  The  materials 
thereof,  as  when  employed  in  more  simple  mechanisms, 
are  subject  to  wear  and  tear,  and,  in  time,  to  yield  their 
hold  and  break  down,  causing  a  corresponding  diversion 
of  the  forces  to  which  they  supplied  a  vehicle  or  a 
bridge.  In  this  repect,  mechanically  considered,  its  li- 
ability to  get  out  of  true  working  order  is  not  equaled 
by  any  other  instrument.  The  nervous  arrangement 
alone  is  much  more  extensive  and  complicated  than  is 


324  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

seen  of  any  other  device  of  art  or  of  nature,  though 
the  system  is  one  of  simplicity. 

Allowing,  then,  for  the  great  superiority  of  the  men- 
tal forces,  and  of  the  vital  forces  largely  at  their  com- 
mand, and  their  adaptability,  like  a  good  economist,  to 
rendering  substitutes  for  deficiencies,  it  is  hardly  possible 
that  at  any  time,  with  the  most  favored  individual,  there 
are  not  many  derangements  large  enough  to  cause,  in 
its  transit,  important  variations  to  the  idea  dispatched. 

MIND   IN    THE    PROCESSES    OF   INSANITY. 

In  illustration  of  how  thought  becomes  arrested,  ab- 
errated and  tangled  in  its  passage  through  the  organism, 
conditions  of  mind  in  cases  where  the  organism  is  dis- 
eased, may  be  cited.  What  is  manifest  in  respect  to  it 
then  is  but  an  exaggeration  of  the  perversions  that  to 
some  extent  always  prevail,  even  when  at  the  best.  In 
recognized  instances  of  insanity — in  the  instances  of 
those  wonderful  misworkings  of  the  mind,  the  nervous 
system  is  invariably  found  in  a  state  of  corresponding 
disorder.  Most  people,  from  some  one  or  more  of  the 
numerous  causes,  have  been,  to  some  extent,  insane  in 
one  or  more  of  the  numerous  forms  of  pronounced  in- 
sanity; to  say  nothing  of  the  trivial  moody  states 
about  which  the  mind  is  generally  fluctuating.  In  most 
countries  people  are  liable  to  extensive  malarial  disturb- 
ances, usually  characterized  by  delirious  fevers.  To 
become  "  flighty  "  is  very  common ;  while  at  times — fre- 
quent enough  to  have  been  seen  by  most  every  one — the 
aberration  rises  to  frenzy,  fretting  the  vision  with  the 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOBLDS.  325 

most  strange  and  terrifying  fancies,  and  apprehending 
nothing  in  its  real  state  of  fact.  The  poison  of  alcohol, 
BO  deplorably  prevalent,  is  a  yet  more  efficient  means  to 
the  same  end.  Following  its  havoc  with  the  nervous 
machinery,  when  imbibed  to  the  extent  that  is  often 
seen,  comes  not  alone  greater  perversion  to  transpiring 
thought,  but  a  corresponding  perversion  of  the  aesthet- 
ical  and  moral  senses,  together  with  (in  many  cases)  a 
reversing  of  the  normal  current  of  sympathy  and  affection. 
In  consequence  of  it,  not  alone  are  ideas  obscured  and 
entangled,  but  there  is  a  descent  from  refinement  to 
coarseness  and  vulgarity ;  from  a  relish  of  virtue  there 
is  a  change  to  the  relish  of  vice ;  instead  of  affection, 
hatred  is  cherished  toward  the  dearest  friends ;  while 
promptings  to  acts  of  affection  are  converted  to  desires 
for  the  infliction  of  injury.  Instances  of  insanity — 
from  other  causes,  however,  in  some  examples  partake 
of  this  same  character.  Even  at  times  when  the  judg- 
ment is  healthy  and  ordinarily  sane,  the  impulse  ta 
vice  and  crime  becomes  overmastering.  At  the  rising 
of  the  impulse,  the  patient  is  at  times  terrified  with  the 
spectacle  of  crime  into  the  execution  of  which  these 
impulses  are  dragging  him  over  his  prostrate  will,  and 
he  sounds  with  most  anxious  solicitude  the  note  of  alarm, 
begging  that  the  intended  victim  fly  for  safety. 

Though  cases  of  insanity  of  this  character  are  not 
rare  and  may  readily  be  recalled  by  most  people  from 
their  own  knowledge,  a  few  examples  cited  by  Prof. 
Maudsley  of  London,  a  well-known  authority  on  brain 
disease,  are  well  to  the  point.     The  first  he  gives  on  the 


326  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

authority  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Pinel  of  France,  and  is  in 
substance  as  follows : 

"  A  man  who  had  previously  followed  a  mechanical 
occupation,  but  was  afterward  confined  at  Bicetre,  ex- 
perienced at  regular  intervals,  fits  of  rage,  ushered  in  by 
the  following  symptoms :  At  first  he  experienced  a  sen- 
sation of  burning  heat  in  the  bowels,  with  an  intense 
thirst  and  obstinate  constipation;  this  sense  of  heat 
spread  by  degrees  over  the  breast,  neck,  and  face,  with 
a  bright  color;  sometimes  it  became  still  more  intense, 
and  produced  violent  and  frequent  pulsations  in  the 
arteries  of  those  parts,  as  if  they  were  going  to  burst ; 
at  last  the  nervous  affection  reached  the  brain  and  then 
the  patient  was  seized  with  an  irresistible  sanguinary 
propensity ;  and  if  he  could  lay  hold  of  any  sharp  in- 
strument, he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  the  first  person  that 
came  in  his  way.  In  other  respects  he  enjoyed  the  free 
exercise  of  his  reason ;  even  during  the  fits  he  replied 
directly  to  questions  put  to  him,  and  showed  no  kind  of 
incoherence  in  his  ideas,  no  sign  of  delirium ;  he  even 
felt  deeply  all  the  horror  of  his  situation,  and  was  often 
penetrated  with  remorse,  as  if  he  was  responsible  for 
his  mad  propensity.  Before  his  confinement  at  Bicetre 
a  fit  of  madness  seized  him  in  his  own  house ;  he  im- 
mediately warned  his  wife  of  it,  to  whom  he  was  much 
attached ;  and  he  had  only  time  to  cry  out  to  her  to  run 
away  lest  he  should  put  her  to  a  violent  death.  *  * 
This  internal  combat  between  a  sane  reason  in  opposition 
to  sanguinary  cruelty  reduced  him  to  the  brink  of 
despair"  (Kesponsibility  in  Mental  Disease,  pp.  141, 
142). 

A  somewhat  similar  case  he  relates  from  Dr.  Jean 


THE  BELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  327 

Esquirol,  a  French  physician  of  great  note  who  died  in 
1840,  and  who  with  Pinel  was  also  greatly  interested  in 
the  study  and  care  of  the  insane.  It  is  of  a  country  gen- 
tleman who  was  of  good  health  and  circumstances,  and 
of  the  age  of  forty-five,  who  came  to  consult  him  about 
his  case.     Of  his  case  the  doctor  says : 

"  There  was  no  indication  of  the  slightest  disorder  of 
reason  in  him;  he  answered  with  precision  all  my 
questions  which  were  numerous.  *  *  Nevertheless 
in  the  night  he  awoke  suddenly  with  the  thought  of  kill- 
ing his  wife,  who  was  lying  by  his  side.  He  left  his 
bed,  and  walked  up  and  down  the  room  for  an  hour, 
after  which,  feeling  no  more  disquietude,  he  lay  down 
and  went  to  sleep ;  three  weeks  afterward  the  same  idea 
occurred  on  three  occasions,  always  in  the  night.  Dur- 
ing the  day  he  took  plenty  of  exercise,  occupied  himself 
with  his  numerous  affairs,  and  had  only  the  remem- 
brance of  what  he  had  felt  in  the  night.  He  had  been 
married  twenty  years,  had  always  enjoyed  health,     * 

*  had  never  had  the  least  disagreement  with  his 
wife,  to  whom  he  was  attached.  *  *  He  is  sad  and 
troubled  about  his  condition ;  has  left  his  wife  from  fear 
that  he  might  yield  to  his  propensity  "  (ibid,  pp.  147, 
148). 

Another  case  which  he  cites  is  that  of  a  gentleman 
fifty  years  of  age,  who  came  to  consult  him  about  his 
condition,  being  much  disturbed  by  homicidal  impulses. 
They  were  so  constantly  and  strongly  impressed  upon 
his  mind  that  (though  a  man  of  great  energy  and  self 
control)  "  he  was  compelled  to  live  away  from  his  fam- 
ily, wandering  from  hotel  to  hotel,  lest  he  should  become 


328  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

a  murderer'*  (ibid,  p.  144).  Another  case  is  that  of  a 
lady  quite  advanced  in  years,  who  "  was  afflicted  with 
recurring  paroxysms  of  convulsive  excitement,  in  which 
she  always  made  desperate  attempts  to  strangle  her 
daughter,  who  was  very  kind  and  attentive  to  her,  and 
to  whom  she  was  much  attached"  (ibid,  p.  145).  Still 
another  case  he  cites  as  follows : 

"  A  man  at  fifty-five  years,  sober  and  industrious,  had 
suffered  from  an  attack  of  cerebral  hemorrhage,  a  year 
ago,  and  remained  hemiplegic.  His  intelligence  was 
sound  and  he  followed  his  usual  occupation.  But  his 
character  was  changed :  he  felt  weary  of  life ;  he  had 
become  morose  and  irritable ;  and  he  complained  that 
at  times  the  blood  rose  to  his  head,  when  vertigo,  noises 
in  the  ears,  and  flashes  before  the  eyes  occurred.  These 
attacks  became  periodic.  During  them  his  heart  beat 
violently,  his  eyes  were  injected,  the  face  flushed,  the 
fingers  of  paralyzed  side  contracted,  the  arteries  of 
neck  throbbed;  he  was  unspeakably  dejected,  wept, 
said  he  was  lost,  and  became  furious,  throwing  himself 
upon  wife  and  children  "  (ibid,  p.  170). 

Not  alone  are  the  promptings  to  suicide  and  homi- 
cide, but  to  the  entire  list  of  crimes  and  vices  common  to 
mankind.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  vulgarity  and 
profanity.  And  in  the  long  years  ago  the  poet  philoso- 
pher Lucretius,  terrified  by  the  strong  promptings  to 
lewdness,  realized  in  paroxysms  of  insanity,  raised  his 
hand  against  his  own  life  to  prevent  its  falling  a  prey  to 
these  vile  impulses  of  his  diseased  brain.  Commonly 
these  take  place  in  exact  reverse  of  the  character  when 
sane.     Or,  probably,  where  any  trait  of  mind  or  of  feel- 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  329 

ing  is  cherished  with  some  special  measure  of  interest, 
the  reversing  of  it  takes  place ;  so  that  not  only  is  the 
one  loved  now  being  hated,  but  the  one  hated  is  being 
loved.  If  the  patient  previously  had  been  specially 
cherishing  piety,  the  disorder  will  likely  have  rendered 
him  profane,  particularly  so  if  the  disturbance  has  be- 
come acute. 

Prof.  Maudsley  himself  very  truly  observes  in  respect 
to  one  phase  of  this  order  of  insanity  as  follows : 

"  The  symptoms  are  chiefly  those  of  disorder  of  the 
moral  sentiments,  and  the  two  conditions  of  excitement 
and  depression  vary  in  degree  and  intensity  in  different 
cases.  In  the  state  of  excitement  the  sufferer  is  very 
much  like  a  person  who  is  half  intoxicated — loquacious, 
boastful,  aggressive,  never  weary  of  talking  of  himself 
and  of  the  wonderful  things  which  he  can  do.  And  he 
does  things  which  he  would  never  have  dreamed  of 
doing  in  his  sober  senses — engages  in  projects  of  social 
or  political  reform,  or  launches  into  commercial  specu- 
lations quite  foreign  to  his  natural  character  and  habits. 
His  morals  undergo  a  sad  degeneration:  heretofore 
modest,  truthful,  and  chaste,  he  is  now  full  of  self-glori- 
fication, disregardful  of  truth,  and  given  to  excesses  ;  he 
displays  a  complete  indifference  to  the  feelings  of  those 
who  are  related  to  him,  frequents  low  company,  tramples 
upon  social  and  domestic  proprieties,  and  is  angrily  im- 
patient of  the  slightest  remonstrance  or  interference" 
(ibid,  pp.  176,  ITT). 

Of  another  phase,  the  epileptic,  he  continues : 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  striking  than  the  abrupt  and 
extreme  change  in  moral  character  which  is  witnessed 


330  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

sometimes  in  asylum  epileptics  before  or  after  an  out- 
break of  epilepsy.  Hitherto  industrious,  attentive,  and 
docile,  the  disposition  and  conduct  undergo  a  sudden 
change.  They  become  negligent,  lazy,  indolent,  forget 
very  simple  things,  will  not  do  their  work,  pass  their 
time  in  inaction  or  wander  about  aimlessly ;  their  dis- 
position, too,  becomes  evil — they  are  for  the  time  liars, 
thieves,  suspicious,  discontented  and  irritable,  and  on 
the  slightest  pretexts,  or  without  actual  provocation, 
yield  to  sudden  outbreaks  of  violence  "  (ibid,  p.  178). 

In  these  instances  of  "  moral  insanity  "  it  is  often  the 
case  that  not  alone  does  the  mind  itself  remain  sane 
and  strong  to  judge  of  the  misdemeanors  toward  which 
they  are  impelled,  as  other  people  do,  but  there  is  also 
the  same  repugnance  thereto  that  others  have.  They 
abhor  and  deplore  in  the  very  midst  of  the  proceedings. 
In  such  cases  it  is,  then,  plain  that  not  the  entire  prin- 
ciple of  the  moral  sense  is  intercepted  by  the  state  of 
disorder  in  the  organism  to  which  the  painful  perversion 
is  due, — ^that  indeed  hack  of  the  organism  the  moral 
sense  itself  is  sane ;  upon  the  principle  set  forth  by  St. 
Paul  as  to  his  own  experience,  "  When  I  would  do  good, 
evil  is  present  with  me, "  and  which  to  the  same  limited 
but  important  extent,  is  true  of  the  best  while  in  the 
flesh. 

While,  therefore,  there  must  be  differences  between 
individuals  as  to  the  rectitude  and  strength  of  the  moral 
sense  itself,  wholly  back  of  the  organism,  its  transmis- 
sion over  the  organism  is  liable  to  be  very  imperfect,  to 
exactly  reverse  it,  as  seen  in  these  insanities.     "As- 


THE  BELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOKLDS.  331 

Buredly, "  says  Mr.  Maudsley,  "  moral  insanity  is  dis- 
order of  mind  produced  by  disorder  of  brain.  In 
examining  the  conditions  of  its  occurrence,  we  have 
seen  how  plainly  it  follows  the  recognized  causes  of  in- 
sanity ;  how  it  may  precede  for  a  time  the  outbreaks  of 
various  forms  of  unequivocal  general  alienation ;  how  it 
accompanies  intellectual  insanity  in  most  of  its  varieties ; 
how  it  may  follow  other  forms  of  general  insanity ;  how 
it  may  precede  or  follow  epilepsy  or  occur  as  a  masked 
epilepsy"  (ibid,  p.  182). 

What  has  been  said  of  "  moral  insanity  "  is  of  course, 
in  principle,  applicable  to  mental  insanity,  which  surely 
is  no  less  prevalent.  It  is  found  that  however  weak  and 
unbalanced  the  purely  mental  functions  themselves  may 
be,  there  is  an  exact  correspondence  between  the  tangled, 
meaningless  or  misleading  expressions  of  thought  and 
the  manner  of  an  existing  brain  disorder — its  broken 
state,  or  its  unserviceableness  from  some  other  fact, — 
brain  lesions,  its  over-pressure  of  blood  or  the  deficiency 
of  its  supply.  Dr.  Carpenter  attributes  much  of  its  im- 
pairment brought  on  by  "  an  impairment  of  nutrition. " 
The  causes  are  numberless  when  we  go  into  detail. 

Aside  from  contending  with  the  disorders  and  im- 
perfections within  the  brain  mechanism  itself,  there  are 
sometimes  defects  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  trans- 
mission of  thought  by  this  route.  It  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  get  the  forces  of  the  mind  at  all  delivered 
upon  the  instrument.  The  mind  finds  it  at  times  diffi- 
cult to  get  hold  of  the  requisite   part  of  this   living 


332  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

mechanism,  from  the  absence  of  requisite  means  of 
connection.  Many  may  from  their  own  experience  re- 
call difl&culties,  on  a  smaller  scale,  like  the  following  cases 
cited  from  Sir  Kobert  Christison,  by  Prof.  Carpenter : 

"  a.  *  The  first  was  that  of  a  gentleman  who  frequently 
could  not  carry  out  what  he  wished  to  perform.  Often 
on  endeavoring  to  undress,  he  was  two  hours  before  he 
could  get  off  his  coat,  all  his  mental  faculties,  volition 
excepted,  being  perfect.  On  one  occasion  having  ordered 
a  glass  of  water,  it  was  presented  to  him  on  a  tray,  but 
he  could  not  take  it,  though  anxious  to  do  so ;  and  he 
kept  the  servant  standing  before  him  half  an  hour,  when 
the  obstruction  was  overcome. 

"b,  *In  the  other  case  the  peculiarity  was  limited. 
If,  when  walking  in  the  street  this  individual  came  to  a 
gap  in  the  line  of  houses,  his  will  suddenly  became  in- 
operative, and  he  could  not  proceed.  An  unbuilt-on 
space  in  the  street  was  sure  to  stop  him.  Crossing  a 
street  also  was  very  difficult ;  and  on  going  in  or  out  of 
a  door,  he  was  always  arrested  for  some  minutes.  Both 
of  these  gentlemen  graphically  described  their  feelings 
to  be  'As  if  another  person  had  taken  possession  of 
their  will'  "  (Mental  Physiology,  p.  385). 

The  sensation  of  these  gentlemen  referred  to  in  the 
words,  "As  if  another  person,  had  possession  of  their 
will,"  could  only  have  been  of  the  fact  that  their  wills 
were  not  effective.  The  fact  of  these  somewhat  singular 
phenomena  or  extreme  exemplification  of  a  more  or  less 
common  difficulty,  was  that  to  that  extent  there  was  an 
inability  on  the  part  of  the  mind  to  get  hold  of  the  right 
nerves,  which,  when  it  got  to  them  worked  well  enough. 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  333 

The  will  itself  was  not  "  paralyzed, "  it  was  actively  try- 
ing to  command  the  organism.  And  it  persisted  till  "  the 
obstruction  was  overcome. "  It  was  somewhat  like  when 
one  in  an  alarming  dream  seeks  desperately  to  move, 
and  for  a  time  is  unable ;  or  as  when  one  in  stammer- 
ing or  stuttering,  mentally  strains  and  is  for  a  time  un- 
able to  gain  possession  of  the  nerve  centers  controlling 
the  organs  of  speech. 

Another  kind  of  derangement  of  the  organism,  and 
of  frequent  occurrence,  is  that  seen  in  certain  forms  of 
Aphasia,  where  the  patient,  though  he  be  wholly  rational 
and  the  organs  of  speech  healthy  and  entire,  and  at  his 
command,  is  powerless  to  seize  the  right  word,  when  en- 
deavoring to  speak.  When  the  mind  orders  the  word, 
one  of  quite  opposite  meaning  is  produced.  A  profes- 
sional gentleman  of  high  standing,  upon  my  remarking 
this  fact  to  him,  answered  me  that  the  difficulty  had  at 
several  times  occurred  to  himself  with  sufficient  force 
to  attract  his  attention.  As  for  example  when  he  was 
intending  to  say  "  east  "  the  word  "  west "  was  uttered. 

Prof.  Carpenter  reports  a  very  pronounced  case  of  a 
gentleman  of  considerable  scientific  attainment,  a  life- 
long acquaintance,  who  became  very  seriously  troubled 
in  this  way.  He  had  attained  to  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  but  retained  an  unusual  degree  of  bodily  vigor.  In 
his  case,  however,  the  malady  took  a  wider  range  than 
simply  the  want  of  power  to  obtain  the  proper  word. 
He  was  come  to  be  more  forgetful  of  words  than  usual, 
and  sometimes  failed  to  grasp  their  meaning,  and 
to  recognize  pepple  when  seen  in  unusual  places.     Mr. 


334  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Carpenter,  in   speaking  of    him,  makes   the  following 
statement : 

"  The  want  of  memory  of  words  then  showed  itself 
more  conspicuously ;  one  word  being  substituted  for  an- 
other, sometimes  in  a  manner  that  showed  the  chain  of 
association  to  be  (as  it  were)  bent  or  distorted,  but 
sometimes  without  any  recognizable  relation.  Thus  on 
calling  one  day  at  the  writer's  residence,  and  finding 
neither  him  nor  Mrs.  C.  at  home,  he  asked  his  son 
(then  quite  a  lad)  *how  his  wife  was,'  meaning,  of  course, 
his  mother.  But  about  the  same  time  he  told  a  friend 
that  he  *had  had  his  umbrella  washed,'  the  meaning  of 
which  was  gradually  discovered  to  be,  that  he  had  his 
hair  cut"  (Mental  Physiology,  p.  445). 

THE    PATHOLOGY   OR   PHILOSOPHY. 

In  the  pathology  of  this  a  partial  insight  may  be  had 
as  to  why  the  mind  becomes  so  adversely  affected  while 
traversing  an  impaired  organism,  so  far  as  pertains  to 
recent  impairments.  Every  brain  track  or  nerve  line, 
by  use  becomes  to  some  extent  automatic,  and  in  con- 
sequence, is  disposed  to  impart  its  quality  of  action  to 
any  impulse  that  passes  upon  it ;  much  after  what  is 
seen  in  the  use  of  a  musical  instrument — a  horn  or  a 
violin.  It  will,  by  use,  become  accustomed  to  qualities 
of  tone  till  it  comes  to  automatically  favor  those  quali- 
ties, and  with  greater  difficulty  yields  to  rendering 
others.  When  an  arm  is  excited  to  action,  its  first  im- 
pulse is  to  execute  its  own  special  movements.  How- 
ever, it  may  be  induced  to  perform  the  function  of  the 


THE  TtELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  335 

leg.  The  principle  holds  good  in  respect  to  bodily  ac- 
tivities generally,  and  is  a  physiological  law. 

And  though  by  the  conditions  of  the  argument  no  ex- 
planation is  called  for  as  to  the  mode  of  operation  or 
mis-operation,  by  which  the  messages  of  thought  become 
perverted  within  the  organism,  this  simple  law  may  sug- 
gest all,  and  the  facts  may  be  considered  as  being  well 
and  truly  stated  by  Prof.  Maudsley  when  he  says : 

"  When  injury  or  disease  has  destroyed  that  part  of 
the  brain  which  ministers  to  the  expression  of  ideas  in 
speech,  as  in  the  condition  of  disease  known  as  aphasia, 
the  person  must  slowly  learn  again  to  talk  his  own 
language ;  he  is  like  a  child  learning  to  speak,  cJr  like 
one  who  is  learning  to  talk  a  foreign  language;  he 
must  educate  another  portion  of  brain  to  do  the  work 
which  the  damaged  portion  can  no  longer  do  "  (Kespon- 
sibility  in  Mental  Diseases,  p.  19). 

To  the  reactions  that  must  take  place  with  such  in- 
novations and  usurpations  incident  to  establishing  these 
new  routes  for  the  mind,  might  well  be  ascribed  all  the 
strange  phenomena  of  the  insane ;  though  we  have  no 
means  of  verifying  in  detail  or  to  understand  anything 
of  the  mechanical  aspect  of  the  case. 

The  few  only  of  the  great  world  of  human  beings  are 
so  badly  deranged  as  to  be  pronounced  insane.  How 
much  of  this  unsoundness  is  prevalent  with  those 
who  are  denominated  the  sane  people  of  which  we 
see  communities  made  up,  were  hard  to  even  approxi- 
mate. Perhaps  none  are  without  physical  defects  in 
the  form  of  disease,  the  disturbance  of  which  must,  to 


336  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

some  extent,  affect  the  so-called  state  of  mind,  and  ren- 
der its  manifestation  or  transmission  of  thought  in- 
complete and  incorrect ;  while,  without  regard  to  disease, 
there  are  the  healthy  irregularities  and  unbalanced  con- 
ditions that  are  not  possible  to  be  without  their  corre- 
sponding aberrations.  And  there  are  the  instances  where 
the  perversions  by  disease — the  deformities  by  this  cause 
— have,  unfortunately,  in  thatform,  settled  into  healthy 
fiber,  remaining  in  the  organism  as  healthy  gnarls, 
knots  and  cavities,  the  seats  of  former  injuries,  con- 
tinue in  the  tree ;  or  as  the  healthy  crooked  limb  remains 
on  the  body,  the  healthy  sightless  orb  in  the  socket,  or 
the  healthy  soundless  drum  in  the  ear,  to  give  their 
lameness  and  cast  their  shadow  and  their  silence  where 
what  these  defects  withhold  is  vital  to  the  full  execution 
of  the  organism's  work. 

Then,  again,  when  we  come  to  consider  that  there  are 
two  organisms  to  be  traversed  by  each  dispatch  between 
minds — that  correctly  apprehending  is  quite  as  necessary 
as  correctly  revealing  ideas,  and  is  as  dependent  on  the 
good  state  of  the  organism  of  the  receiver  as  correct 
dispatching  is  on  that  of  the  sender,  and  that  it  is 
as  liable  to  the  same  imperfections — ^we  see  that  the 
obstacles  to  transmission  seen  in  the  one  organism, 
as  above,  are  always  to  be  multiplied  by  two.  And  then 
when  we  come  to  add  to  this  what  must  in  part  be  the 
result  of  this  same  organic  deficiency,  and  part  that  of  its 
imperfect  development,  the  deficiency  of  the  instrument 
of  language,  upon  which  so  large  a  part  of  the  transfer 
of  ideas  depends,  we  may  judge  of  the  limited  extent  to 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  337 

which  we  are  able  to  understand  one  another  in  life. 
But  a  few  are  able  to  converse  understandingly  upon 
unfamiliar  topics ;  topics  that  are  not  the  embodiments  of 
mutual  and  often  repeated  experiences.  In  attempting 
to  introduce  wholly  new  ideas  or  experiences,  how  soon 
do  we  discover  our  insular  situation  of  mind.  How  we 
strike  out  and  grasp,  vainly,  at  this  or  that  word  or  fig- 
ure of  speech  by  which  to  make  ourselves  understood. 
People,  though  they  have  a  very  gratifying  measure  of 
mutual  understanding,  are  also,  many  of  them,  pain- 
fully realizing  that  for  much  of  the  inner  thought — 
the  newer  and  often  higher  and  more  valuable — there 
are  no  means  to  communicate. 

THE    DIFFICULTIES     OF    TRANSMITTING      THOUGHT     ENLARGE 
BETWEEN    RESIDENTS    OF   THE    TWO    WORLDS. 

But  while,  in  this  manner,  between  minds  residing  in 
them,  these  embodying  elements  place  such  obscurity 
and  effect  such  perversion,  it  is  also  a  fact  that  by 
means  of  them  a  large  and  satisfying  measure  of  inter- 
course becomes  possible  and  is  constantly  transpiring. 
From  them  is  supplied  a  system  of  external  senses  that 
is  common  to  all  minds  resident  in  the  sensuous  state. 
And  these,  co-ordinating  in  the  attainment  of  the  same 
common  facts  of  nature,  in  this  proxy  way  supply  a 
bridge  over  which  mind  may  hold  commerce  with  mind. 
Imperfectly  as  they  serve  us,  they  are  still  the  means 
of  directly  knowing  much  of  each  other,  who  are  living 
on  this  same  side  or  in  this  same  aspect  of  being; 
which  must  be  also  true  of  the  residents  of  any  other 

22 


338  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

-world.  From  this  fact  residents  in  elements  so  unlike 
ds  not  to  afford  senses  in  common,  must  necessarily  be 
of  very  limited  measures  of  intercourse ;  and  the  fact 
of  such  dissimilarity  of  elements  in  the  two  states  is  it- 
self sufficient  cause  why  we  have  so  little  special  knowl- 
edge of  those  living  in  the  land  beyond  death. 

What  they  may  see  and  know  of  us  may  well  be  more 
than  what  we  see  and  know  of  them.  In  life,  as  in  all 
other  respects,  the  superior  comprehends  more  of  at- 
tainment than  the  inferior.  In  them,  therefore,  the 
mental  modes  of  perception  not  alone,  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  more  effective  in  discerning  neighboring  lives, 
regardless  of  dissimilarity  of  embodiment,  but  it  is  to 
be  considered  that  the  same  higher  order  of  attainment 
would  afford  them  also  wider  range  of  power  over  adjacent 
elements;  to  utilize  them — those  that  are  inireedom  drift- 
ing, or  those  (as  the  ancients  believed)  which  are  wrought 
into  organisms  in  the  embodiments  of  their  kindred  yet 
surviving  in  the  mortal  land — to  some  extent  as  means 
of  perception  and  of  impression. 

But  with  all  these  possibilities  and  probabilities,  while 
we  see  little  and  know  little  practically  of  them,  their 
knowledge  of  us  is  necessarily,  also,  more  restricted 
and  uncertain  than  is  ours  of  each  other,  or  theirs  of 
one  another  on  their  own  side  of  existence. 


CHAPTEE    XVII. 

Questions  Respecting  the  Relation  of  the  Two  Worlds, 
Continued. — ^Facts  Establishing  the  Possibility  of 
Intercourse  between  Minds  within  the  Flesh  and 
Those  Beyond. — Conditions  of  Lucid  Intercourse 
Extremely  Eare. — Special  Devices  for  the  Attain- 
ment OF  Intercourse,  Impracticable  and  Endangering 
to  Mind  and  Morals. 

FROM  the  fact  of  the  continuance  of  life  into  the  re~ 
gion  beyond  death  it  does  not  follow  that  between 
that  world  and  this  there  should  be  any  means  of  inter- 
course whatever.  Neither,  when  otherwise  sufficiently 
assured  of  their  existence,  is  the  intercourse  with  the 
departed  of  greatest  importance.  In  some  respects  we 
see  that  good  might  come  of  it ;  especially  so  if  that 
world  were  seen  to  be  superior  to  this  in  the  gratifications 
it  would  afford  to  the  better  part  of  life ;  and  provided 
the  intercourse  were  so  complete  and  true  as  to  rightly 
represent  the  facts  pertaining  to  that  life. 

Yet,  too,  we  can  see  how  that  in  instances  quite  com- 
mon, it  would  be  detrimental.  It  is  not  always  the  case 
that  people  who  do  the  most  visiting — ^who,  socially,  are 
all  the  time  lying  in  each  other's  bosoms,  are  doing  as 
well  by  their  own  lives  and  by  a  needy  world,  as  if  it 

339 


340  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

were  otherwise ;  especially  so  where  the  friendship  is  ex- 
clusive—limited to  a  small  coterie,  to  the  home,  to  the 
family  and  kindred,  perhaps.  To  a  large  part  of  the 
good  in  the  world — the  real  comfort  and  happiness — 
hard,  self-denying  labor  has  been  essential.  And  it  is 
doubtful  whether  real  good  is  not  always  so  precious 
and  rare  as  to  be  ever  equally  costly.  And  to  the  extent 
that  habits  detract  from  the  interest  to  be  taken  in  the 
general  welfare,  are  they  to  be  regarded  as  injurious  to 
mankind. 

The  privilege  of  intercourse  of  this  kind,  then,  while 
often  it  would  be  extremely  gratifying  and  helpful,  might 
after  all,  as  a  whole,  be  easily  over-estimated ;  while  upon 
the  importance  of  an  entire  assurance  that  our  departed 
are  still  living  in  all  their  essential  wholeness,  and  are 
continuing  under  the  same  beneficent  regulations  of  life 
(a  fact  that  must  follow  from  their  survival),  it  were 
difficult  to  place  an  estimate  adequately  high. 

But  in  the  past,  before  the  scientific  attainments  of 
our  day,  from  such  intercourse  alone,  or  from  phenom- 
ena that  were  that  in  appearance,  the  assurance  of 
another  life  could  have  been  derived  in  sufficient  strength 
to  have  materially  influenced  the  sentiments  of  the  peo- 
ple— ^to  have  been  the  strong  incentive  to  mental  devel- 
opment that  its  influence  has  averaged  to  the  race. 

The  evidence  as  to  the  possibility  of  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  worlds,  must  first  be  in  respect  to  the  part 
in  it  taken  by  the  residents  on  the  other  side.  We  must 
first  consider  what  possibilities  are  with  them  that  would 


1 


THE    RELATION    OF  THE    TWO    WORLDS.         341 

enable  them  to  deliver  messages  through  to  the  people 
of  this  world — ^by  what  means  at  their  command  they 
could  make  themselves  understood  by  us,  or  impart  in- 
fluences upon  us,  of  which  we  might  or  might  not  have 
an  imderstanding,  or  be  aware. 

By  the  nature  of  the  case,  much  of  what  should  go 
into  the  answer  to  this  inquiry,  is  matter  that  is  ex- 
clusively vested  in  the  limits  of  that  world  itself,  and 
beyond  our  present  means  of  ascertaining.  Beyond  those 
facts  that  are  constitutionally  essential  to  existence,  or 
that  necessarily  follow  from  such  facts,  and  must  remain 
essentially  the  same  in  all  worlds,  we  cannot  presume 
to  venture  any  statements.  Of  the  details  beyond  what 
are  thus  facts  arising  purely  from  the  necessities  of  be- 
ing, we  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  anything  very  defin- 
ite to  say.  However,  it  may  quite  safely  be  judged 
that  they  are  more  able  on  their  part  to  overcome  the 
intervening  obstacles  than  are  we — that  possibly  if  the 
restrictions  on  our  part  were  as  well  removed  as  on 
theirs,  the  measure  of  intercourse  might  be  consider- 
able. 

From  the  facts  brought  to  view  concerning  the  forms  of 
substance  in  this  state — that  in  the  higher  there  arc 
properties  with  prerogatives  not  appearing  in  the  lower 
— it  is  hardly  to  be  doubted  that  in  each  separate  higher 
state  of  being,  the  passive  substances,  corresponding 
to  these  of  the  mineral  with  us,  likewise  present  proper- 
ties not  met  with  in  the  lower  world ;  which  might  con- 
stitute them  available  means  of  achieving  more  of  the 
desired  ends  of  their  occupants.     Then,  too,  might  this 


342  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

avail  of  power,  more  than  what  we  in  this  state  are 
privileged  with,  include  a  more  extensive  mastery  of  the 
elements  between  them  and  us. 

Observe  what  new  and  wonderful  means  of  intercourse 
have  come  to  us  in  the  last  few  years  by  means  of  more 
extended  research  in  our  higher  and  more  subtile  forms 
of  substance.  This  intercourse  transpires  by  means  of 
ethers  greatly  condensed  and  crystallized  and  extended 
between  parties  over  distances  indefinitely  great.  But 
what  are  the  facts  in  respect  to  this  wire,  doing  tele- 
graphic and  telephonic  service?  We  cut  out  a  section 
and  subject  it  to  a  not  very  high  degree  of  heat,  and  it 
recedes  from  visibility.  Continuing  to  be  the  same 
substance,  the  atmospheres  of  its  atoms  are  so  im- 
measurably extended  as  to  render  it  invisibly  rare,  and 
altogether  intangible.  This  dissolution  has  been  but  a 
process  of  its  forces,  induced  by  adjacent  forces,  and 
proves  its  own  forces  to  be  mainly  the  agents  of  its  con- 
solidation, not  alone,  but  the  parts,  concerning  itself, 
that  constituted  it  the  tractile  medium  for  the  dis- 
patches. 

By  casual  or  unskilled  observation,  these  facts  are 
not  being  considered;  but,  on  reflection,  it  is  plain 
enough  that  in  this  medium  of  intercourse,  we  are  op- 
erating but  a  series  of  forces,  one  incumbent  upon  and 
actuating  the  other,  in  obedience  to  the  causative  force 
leaping  forth  from  the  intelligent  will  of  man. 
•  And  yet  these  forces,  of  which  our  explorers  have 
learned  but  a  few,  and  those  imperfectly  well,  are  con- 
stantly showing  complications  with  other  forces    still 


THE  BELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOKLDS.  343 

more  remote,  the  number,  variety,  and  influence  of 
which,  none  can  tell.  Probably  to  the  ever  rising  in- 
telligence they  will  only  multiply  and  extend ;  as  the  en- 
larging telescope,  instead  of  finding  a  boundary,  only 
increases  the  number  and  the  distance  of  stars.  The 
remotest  atom  is  a  compound ;  and  hence,  too,  every 
force,  however  remote,  is  a  cluster,  the  whole  sur- 
mounted by  the  Infinite  Mind. 

But  only  in  their  larger  classification  and  more  com- 
prehensive grouping,  can  they  be  considered  as  appear- 
ing to  the  earlier  understanding.  And  to  the  Infinite 
Mind  alone,  may  they  be  open  to  view  in  their  infinite 
detail  of  operation.  These  forces  are  largely,  if  not  en- 
tirely, represented  between  the  finite  mind  and  the  ex- 
ternal aspect  of  the  mineral  state ;  which  state  seems, 
however,  to  be  so  conditioned  that  to  life  therein,  the  higher 
forces  are  not  attainable  in  efficient  measures ;  while  the 
departed,  by  the  sundering  process  of  death,  have  risen 
into  larger  possession  of  them,  and  more  away  from 
the  possession  of  the  lower.  And  this  seems  to  consti- 
tute the  difference,  as  to  state,  between  the  two  worlds 
we  call  the  physical  and  the  spiritual ;  however  abrupt 
and  wide  that  difference  may  be. 

It  cannot  be  certainly  known  how  extensive  sundering 
of  relation  with  physical  forces,  this  separation  from 
the  body  includes.  But  f^om  the  fact  that  the  departed 
are  so  completely  unrecognizable  by  all  the  sensuous 
modes  of  recognition,  it  becomes  quite  certain  that  their 
abode  and  identification  are  with  a  world  of  substance 
essentially  foreign  to  our  own ;  and  by  their  more  ex- 


344  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

tended  requirements  of  being,  it  could  only  be  of  a  cor- 
responding higher  order. 

But  the  fact  must  constantly  remain  in  view,  that  the 
minds  of  the  physical  and  of  the  spiritual  worlds  are  of 
the  same  mental  substance  and  forces,  with  one 
another — that  these  forces,  while  in  the  body,  are 
having  the  mineral  at  command,  as  we  have  amply  seen 
and  are  all  the  time  realizing.  And  that  mind  is  not 
entirely  dependent  for  its  contact  with  external  nature 
upon  exact  forms  of  organization,  is  definitely  known  in 
that  in  the  body  it  shifts  from  one  group  of  nerves  to 
another,  and  at  times,  also,  to  those  of  lower  forms ; 
and  that  it  repairs  brain  and  even  creates  new  brain, 
by  the  lower  forces  at  its  command.  And,  hence,  it  is 
a  fact  that  it  is  provided  with  some  form  of  force  that 
supplies  to  it  a  means  of  laying  hold  of  loose,  unassim- 
ilated,  mineral  substance.  And  to  this  loose  substance 
the  otherwise  embodied  mind  is  disembodied.  It  is  practi- 
cally, to  all  intents  and  purposes,  disembodied  mind 
from  the  spirit  world  so  far  actuating  and  directing  the 
mineral  elements  of  this.  Neither  does  this  need  to 
seem  like  drawing  out  the  illustration  to  a  "  hair-split- 
ting "  fineness,  or  like  a  straining  to  make  out  a  case. 
The  fact  is  sufficiently  bold  to  have  become  a  matter  of 
science,  and  is  of  a  class  of  facts  already  cited.  How- 
ever, the  principle  is  commonly  referred  to  for  other 
purposes  than  the  one  for  which  I  am  here  employing  it ; 
which,  notwithstanding,  does  not  render  it  less  useful  in 
this  connection.  It  is,  then,  not  to  be  disputed  that  with 
the  human  mind  in  the  other  world,  there  is  retained 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  345 

some  measure  of  power  to  control  mineral  elements  of 
this  world. 

EXPECTANT    ATTENTION. 

Appropriate  to  this  may  be  cited  a  few  facts  of  the 
class  given  in  illustration  of  the  law  of  "  emotional  ex- 
citement "  or  "  expectant  attention, "  as  the  principle  is 
more  commonly  named.  Prof.  Carpenter  in  treating  of 
this  law  makes  use  of  the  following  illustrations : 

"  A  lady,  who  was  watching  her  little  child  at  play, 
saw  a  heavy  window- sash  fall  upon  its  hand,  cutting  ojff 
three  of  the  fingers ;  and  she  was  so  much  overcome  by 
fright  and  distress,  as  to  be  unable  to  render  it  any  as- 
sistance. A  surgeon  was  speedily  obtained,  who,  having 
dressed  the  wounds,  turned  himself  to  the  mother,  whom 
he  found  seated,  moaning,  and  complaining  of  pain  in 
her  hand.  On  examination,  three  fingers,  correspond- 
ing to  those  injured  in  the  child,  were  discovered  to  be 
swollen  and  inflamed,  although  they  had  ailed  nothing 
prior  to  the  accident.  In  four- and- twenty  hours,  incis- 
ions were  made  into  them,  and  pus  was  evacuated; 
sloughs  were  afterward  discharged,  and  the  wounds 
ultimately  healed"  (Mental  Physiology,  p.  682). 

Again: 

"  A  highly  intelligent  lady  known  to  Dr.  Tuke  related 
to  him  that  one  day  she  was  walking  past  a  pubhc  in- 
stitution and  observed  a  child,  in  whom  she  was  partic- 
ularly interested,  coming  out  through  the  iron  gate.  She 
saw  that  he  let  go  the  gate  after  opening  it,  and  that 
it  seemed  likely  to  close  upon  him,  and  concluded  that 
it  would  do  so  with  such  force  as  to  crush  his  ankle ; 


346  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

however,  this  did  not  happen.  *It  was  impossible,'  she 
says,  '  by  word  or  act  to  be  quick  enough  to  meet  the 
supposed  emergency ;  and,  in  fact,  I  found  I  could  not 
move,  for  such  intense  pain  came  on  in  the  ankle  cor- 
responding to  the  one  which  I  thought  the  boy  would 
have  injured,  that  I  could  only  put  my  hand  on  it  to  less- 
en its  extreme  painfulness.  I  am  sure  I  did  not  move  so 
as  to  strain  or  sprain  it.  The  walk  home — a  distance  of 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile — was  very  laborious,  and  in 
taking  off  my  stocking  I  found  a  circle  round  the  ankle, 
as  if  it  had  been  painted  with  red  currant  juice,  witli  d 
large  spot  of  the  same  on  the  outer  part.  By  morning  tlie 
whole  foot  was  inflamed,  and  I  was  a  prisoner  to  my 
bed  for  many  days '  "  (ibid) . 

Facts  of  this  kind  are  not  so  uncommon  as  one  not 
familiar  with  this  class  of  reading  might  suppose.  Mr. 
C.  accounts  for  these  by  the  theory  of  "  local  disorder  of 
nutrition  followed  upon  powerful  emotion,  determined 
as  to  their  seat  by  the  intense  direction  of  the  attention 
to  a  particular  part  of  the  body. "  While,  in  the  main, 
this  theory  may  be  the  true  one,  it  does  not  sufficiently 
provide  for  the  facts  in  the  case  that  are  of  chief  im- 
portance. That  the  effect  should  be  so  exclusively  local, 
that  the  location  should  be  so  far  from  the  seat  of  the 
disturbing  cause — the  mind,  and  that  the  disordered 
nutrition  should  be  so  instantaneously  destructive  of  the 
tissue,  are  not  made  clear.  The  detonation  of  thunder 
will  precipitate  the  oxidation  of  milk  when  drawn,  and 
so  disorder  it ;  and  the  intense  mental  disturbance  of 
the  mother  may  render  her  milk  fatally  unfit  for  the  child, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case,  even  so  particularly  impress- 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  347 

ing  upon  it  the  special  form  of  the  disturbance  as  that 
the  disturbance  will  be,  in  effect,  reproduced  in  the 
child ;  still  the  impression  is  general  and  not  local.  In 
these  cases  the  effects  are  so  very  local,  as  to  be  denoted 
by  exact  bounds;  and  where  nutrition  could  only  be 
present  in  a  state  of  assimilation.  Besides  the  effects 
were  not  of  the  character  of  the  famishing  or  diseasing 
of  the  fiber,  but  of  their  massive,  mechanical  crushing ; 
upon  which,  in  due  time,  disease  followed ;  the  same  as 
if  the  crushing  had  been  caused  by  external  violence — 
by  the  falling  sash  or  the  closing  gate. 

We  note,  also,  that  the  bruises  were  not  on  the  brain, 
on  which  the  mind  ordinarily  delivers  its  forces,  nor 
was  there  any  damage  discovered  along  the  nerves — the 
line  of  travel — leading  from  the  brain  to  the  wounded 
part ;  all  of  which  should  have  been,  if  the  mind,  with 
its  crushing  force,  had  reached  the  spot  by  the  usual 
way  of  the  organism.  Evidently  the  organism  was  lit- 
tle, if  at  all,  employed  in  delivering  this  force  on  a  re- 
mote member  of  the  body.  These  powerful  impulses  of 
mind,  so  crushingly  laying  hold  on  the  distant  fiber,  as 
by  these  facts,  could  only  have  reached  their  destination, 
sympathetically  indicated,  by  having  taken  a  route 
through  matter  practically  external  of  the  body. 

But  in  the  light  of  these  facts,  might  not  the  princi- 
ple that  provided  a  condition  that  was  in  these  cases  so 
effective,  provide,  also,  for  mental  force  to  be  adminis- 
tered on  external  mineral  nature  in  measures  indefinitely 
greater  ? — to  have  entirely  simdered  the  maternal  fingers, 
and  the  ankle  ? 


348  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE, 

Also,  we  saw,  in  the  instance  of  mesmerism,  the 
power  of  the  mind  to  concentrate  forces  upon  a  line, 
and  upon  special  points,  and  on  definite  objects, — that 
not  all  adjacent  minds  were  affected — only  the  one  in- 
tended. So  here  we  have,  and  in  relation  to  another  class 
of  circumstances,  yet  another  illustration  of  the  same 
power.  Though  involuntarily  and  unconsciously  ex- 
ecuted, that  there  was  a  concentration  of  mental  forces 
and  whatever  other  forces  were  required,  on  the  wounded 
part,  is  manifest  beyond  doubt.  As  to  the  mode  by 
which  the  forces  are  combined  and  made  available — ^how 
they  are  made  to  seize  on  objects,  though  questions  to 
be  expected,  need  not  here  be  asked,  nor  answered. 
How  the  magnetic  forces  seize  upon  a  fiber  of  metal  and 
join  it  with  another,  or  upon  the  elements  constituting 
the  fiber,  bringing  them  into  the  needed  density,  while 
it  would  be  interesting  as  a  matter  of  knowledge,  could 
have  no  bearing  on  the  fact  of  intercourse  by  teleg- 
raphy. The  present  indications  are  that  all  the  lower 
forces,  per  se,  operate  in  circuits  and  actuate  each  other 
by  the  well-known  law  of  induction.  But  when  we  de- 
cide to  move  an  arm,  we  are  merely  conscious  of  send- 
ing an  impulse  upon  it,  and  that,  in  accordance  with  the 
direction  indicated  in  the  impulse,  the  arm  moves.  We 
have  no  realization  of  getting  hold  of  the  arm.  Were  it 
paralyzed,  the  unavailing  will-pressure  being  a  more 
pronounced  effort,  might  cause  the  sensation  of  an  en- 
deavor to  seize  it,  by  carefully  noticing. 


THE    RELATION   OF    THE    TWO    WORLDS.         349 
STIGMATIZATION. 

In  these  instances  the  forces  acting  so  instantaneously, 
would  suggest  that  they  are  involuntary,  and  of  no 
avail  for  the  voluntary  purposes  of  the  mind.  But  the 
voluntary  and  involuntary  processes  so  imperceptibly 
merge  in  each  other  as  that  these  instances  cannot  be 
taken  as  conclusive.  Indeed,  we  find,  that  under  other 
conditions  of  essentially  the  same  phenomena,  the  facts 
are  of  opposite  indication.  In  illustration,  more  es- 
pecially of  the  law  of  "expectant  attention,"  Mr.  C. 
cites  one  of  those  singular  cases  of  stigmatization, 
sometimes  met  with  in  reports  of  intense  religious 
emotion,  taken  from  Macmillan's  Magazine  of  April, 
1871,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  The  most  recent  case  of  this  kind,  that  of  Louise 
Lateau,  has  undergone  a  scrutiny  so  careful,  on  the 
part  of  medical  men  determined  to  find  out  the  deceit, 
if  such  should  exist,  that  there  seems  no  adequate  rea- 
son for  doubting  its  genuineness.  This  young  Belgian 
peasant  had  been  the  subject  of  an  exhausting  illness, 
from  which  she  recovered  rapidly  after  receiving  the 
sacrament;  a  circumstance  which  obviously  made  a 
strong  impression  on  her  mind.  Soon  afterward,  blood 
began  to  issue  every  Friday  from  a  spot  in  her  left  side ; 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  similar  bleeding  spots 
established  themselves  on  the  front  and  back  of  each 
hand,  and  on  the  upper  surface  of  each  foot,  while  a 
circle  of  small  spots  formed  on  the  forehead ;  and  the 
hemorrhage  from  these  recurred  every  Friday,  some- 
times to  a  considerable  amount.     About  the  same  time. 


350  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

fits  of  'ecstasy'  began  to  occnr,  commencing  every 
Friday  between  eight  and  nine  a.  m.,  and  ending  at 
about  six  p.  m.  ;  interrupting  her  in  conversation,  in 
prayer,  or  in  manual  occupations.  This  state  seems  to  have 
been  intermediate  between  that  of  the  biologized  and  that 
of  the  hypnotized  subject ;  for,  whilst  as  unconscious  as 
the  latter  of  all  sense  impressions,  she  retained,  like  the 
former,  a  recollection  of  all  that  had  passed  through  her 
mind  during  the  'ecstasy.'  She  described  herself  as 
suddenly  plunged  into  a  vast  flood  of  bright  light,  from 
which  more  or  less  distinct  forms  soon  began  to  evolve 
themselves ;  she  then  witnessed  the  several  scenes  of  the 
passion  successively  passing  before  her.  She  minutely 
described  the  cross  and  the  vestments,  the  wounds,  the 
crown  of  thorns  about  the  head  of  the  Savior ;  and  gave 
various  details  regarding  the  persons  about  the  cross, — 
the  disciples,  holy  women,  Jews,  and  Koman  soldiers. 
And  the  progress  of  her  vision  might  be  traced  by  the 
succession  of  actions  she  performed  at  different  stages 
of  it ;  most  of  these  being  movements  expressive  of  her 
own  emotions ;  whilst  regularly,  about  three  p.  m.,  she 
extended  her  limbs  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  The  fit  ter- 
minated with  a  state  of  extreme  physical  prostration: 
the  pulse  being  scarcely  perceptible,  the  breathing  slow 
and  feeble,  and  the  whole  surface  bedewed  with  a  cold 
perspiration.  After  this  state  had  continued  about  ten 
minutes,  a  return  to  the  normal  condition  rapidly  took 
place.  These  last  phenomena,  which  were  paralleled  to  a 
certain  degree  in  Mr.  Braid's  experiments,  seem  quite 
beyond  the  power  of  intentional  simulation ;  while  the 
tests  applied  to  determine  the  possibility  of  the  artificial 
production  of  the  stigmata  and  of  the  issue  of  blood 


THE  RELATION  OF    THE    TWO    WORLDS.         351 

from  them,  appear  no  less  conclusive  as  to  their  non- 
simulation  "  (Mental  Phys.,  pp.  689,  690). 

While  the  entire  sanity  of  this  and  similar  subjects 
may  be  questioned,  the  facts  of  the  stigmatization  and 
the  ecstasy,  which  alone  concern  the  principle  under 
consideration,  and  are  of  any  value  whatever,  are  well 
authenticated.  Her  case  (which  is  recent — she  being 
bom  in  1850)  was  examined  under  all  the  advantages 
of  modem  science,  by  a  commission  sent  for  that  pur- 
pose by  the  Eoyal  Academy  of  Medicine  of  Belgium, 
who,  after  a  most  determined,  painstaking  and  com- 
plete investigation,  pronounced  the  stigmatization  and 
ecstasies,  real ;  but  the  physiological  and  pathological 
principles  cited  in  explanation,  fail  to  account  for  these 
special  local  transudations  of  blood.  The  general  tran- 
sudation of  blood  through  the  perspiratory  ducts  of  the 
skin  ("  sweating  blood  ")  under  conditions  of  great  emo- 
tional excitement,  is  a  well-known  fact,  and  in  the  light 
of  physiological  principles  may  be  readily  conceded. 

In  this  case  the  essential  facts  are  not  materially  un- 
like those  of  the  examples  previously  cited.  In  those 
the  fiber  was  crushed  in  definite  localities  without  ajffect- 
ing  the  surrounding  parts,  as  in  case  of  an  ordinary 
bruise.  In  this,  the  fiber  was  so  displaced  as  to  allow 
the  passage  of  the  blood  out  through  the  skin,  while, 
also,  the  surrounding  part  seemed  unaffected.  In  the 
others,  as  in  this,  the  wounds  were  extremely  sensitive 
and  sore.  In  the  former,  the  injuries  were  inflicted  by 
sudden  intense  mental  impulses.  Those  impulses  were 
directed  on  the  parts  painfully  imagined  or  seen  injured 


352  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

in  others  for  whom  tender  affections  were  cherished; 
and  the  injury  was  in  each  case  in  the  form  of  the  in- 
jury imaginarily  seen.  In  this  case  there  was  no  sud- 
den impulse  of  the  mind — ^no  startle  or  fright.  But, 
instead,  it  is  seen  that  the  subject  rapidly  recovered 
from  an  exhausting  illness,  after  having  received  the 
sacrament.  Hence  the  subject  of  the  sacrament  must 
have  made  a  much  stronger  impression  on  her  mind 
than  is  usual.  Besides,  at  about  the  same  time  occurred 
those  ecstasies,  in  which  the  passion  scene  stood  out  be- 
fore her,  vividly  displaying  to  her  view  the  crucifixion — 
the  transfixed  condition  of  her  passionately  loved  Savior 
— of  which  the  overpowering  impressions  would  not  fail 
to  be  those  blood-issuing,  living  wounds,  suggesting  ter- 
rific pains ;  which  would  not  fail  to  be  located  on  cor- 
responding parts  of  her  own  person,  causing  intense 
concentration  of  the  mental  forces,  and  their  seizing, 
breaking  and  sundering  of  the  fiber. 

Then  here,  too,  as  in  the  other  named  particulars, 
there  is  an  exact  parallel  between  this  and  the  other  ex- 
amples :  the  injuries  in  her  person,  too,  were,  in  location 
and  in  form,  the  same  as  those  imaginarily  seen  on  the 
person  of  another.  And  we  may  only  point  to  one  feature 
of  difference,  and  this  not  at  all  a  radical  one.  It  is 
that  in  this  case  the  means  of  voluntarily  determining 
the  direction  and  execution  of  these  forces  upon  a  defin- 
ite object  is  more  fully  demonstrable.  Notwithstanding 
the  ecstasy  was  uncontrollable,  the  element  of  reason 
was  represented,  and  in  such  relation  as  to  constitute 
the  stigmatization,  essentially,  an  act  of  the  will.     Not 


THE  BELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOKLDS.  353 

directly  so,  but  indirectly ;  being  in  position  to  determine 
the  direction  and  the  execution  of  the  forces.  We  see 
that  the  dominant  impressions  produced  the  stigmata ; 
that  many  other  features  of  the  general  scene  were  also 
sorely  impressive;  but  that  among  all  these,  reason 
(such  as  it  was)  drew  the  major  attention  to  the  wounds, 
upon  which  followed  (upon  their  sympathetic  seats  in 
her  own  person)  the  concentration  and  precipitation  of 
the  forces  in  measure  and  manner  adequate  to  produce 
these  wounds.  Truly,  when  the  reasonableness  of  a 
proposed  act  greatly  preponderates  over  that  of  another, 
the  volition  may  indistinguishably  merge  into  a  neces- 
sity— at  least  into  the  appearance  of  necessity — when 
in  fact  it  continues  to  be  volition.  The  full  agency  of 
the  mind  remains  in  the  transaction.  So  in  this  case. 
Another  illustration  of  the  principle  is  seen  in  that 
the  mental  impulses  of  the  mother  extend  with  promi- 
nent effect  to  the  person  of  the  child  while  in  the 
fetal  state,  though  "  there  is  no  nervous  communication  " 
whatever  between  them.  Mr.  C's  explanation  is  that 
as  the  child  in  that  state  is  wholly  nourished  from  the 
blood  of  the  mother,  the  impression  is  received  on  her 
blood  only,  causing  minute  alterations  in  it,  and  being 
in  this  form  transmitted  would  correspondingly  influence 
the  bodily  formation  of  the  child.  The  explanation 
would  apply  very  satisfactorily  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
blood  would  be  expected  to  affect  the  body  of  the  mother 
in  some  measure  the  same  as  that  of  the  child,  seeing 
she  derives  all  her  own  nourishment  from  the  same 
fluid.     But  this  is  not  seen.     It  could  apply  only  by 

23 


35d  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

considering  the  impression  to  be  made  on  the  volume  of 
the  blood  separately  belonging  to  the  child,  which  would 
make  it  necessary  that  it  be  delivered  upon  the  blood  only 
after  it  has  entered  the  person  of  the  child, — beyond 
all  nerve  connection  with  the  mother, — in  another  in- 
dividual ;  it  mattering  not  whether  on  the  blood  or  fiber. 
But  the  blood,  also,  is  without  nerve  connection.  It 
is  merely  a  train  of  supply  material  not  yet  incorpo- 
rated, being  propelled  along  the  passages  to  its  destina- 
tion by  mechanical  appliances,  and  may  have  been 
brought  through  artificial  tubes  over  from  the  veins  of 
another  and  be  in  reality  the  blood  of  another  individ- 
ual. And,  in  any  case,  its  seizure  by  the  mental  forces 
would  be  the  mind  seizing  substances  having  no  specific 
connection  with  any  organism.  And  although  by  means 
of  the  more  intimate  blending  of  their  vital  forces  while 
thus  situated  with  respect  to  each  other,  and  being  more 
impressible  during  its  early  states  of  development,  the 
mental  forces  of  the  mother  are  more  effective  on  the 
child,  in  uterOytho^n  upon  a  person  external;  yet  so  seiz- 
ing its  blood  or  the  fiber  itself,  is,  in  principle,  seizing 
and  influencing  the  body  of  a  neighbor. 

MIRACULOUS    CURES. 

still  further  illustrations  of  this  law  are  to  be  found 
among  the  many  instances  of  wonderful  cures  cited  in 
all  ages.  "Expectant  Attention"  will  here  go  far  to  ex- 
plain what  is  not  fraud.  We  have  place  for  but  a  few 
examples.  The  first  is  from  Dr.  Paris,  cited  by  Dr. 
Hammond,  and  is  specially  important  on  account  of 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  355 

the  prominent  part  taken  in  it  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy. 
Dr.  Paris  says : 

"  As  soon  as  the  powers  of  nitrous  oxide  gas  were  dis- 
covered, Dr.  Beddoes  at  once  concluded  that  it  must  nec- 
essarily be  a  specific  for  paralysis ;  a  patient  was  selected 
for  trial,  and  the  management  of  it  was  entrusted  to 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy.  Previous  to  the  administration 
of  the  gas,  he  inserted  a  small  thermometer  under  the 
tongue  of  the  patient,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do  upon 
such  occasions,  to  ascertain  the  degree  of  animal  tem- 
perature, with  a  view  to  future  comparison.  The  para- 
lytic man,  wholly  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  process  to 
which  he  was  to  be  submitted,  but  deeply  impressed  from 
the  representations  of  Dr.  Beddoes  with  the  certainty  of 
its  success,  no  sooner  felt  the  thermometer  under  his 
tongue  than  he  concluded  that  the  talisman  was  in  full 
oi)eration,  and  in  a  burst  of  enthusiasm  declared  that 
he  already  experienced  the  effect  of  its  benign  influence 
through  his  whole  body.  The  opportunity  w^as  too 
tempting  to  be  lost ;  Davy  cast  one  intelligent  glance  at 
Coleridge,  and  desired  his  patient  to  visit  him  the  fol- 
lowing day,  when  the  same  ceremony  was  performed, 
and  repeated  every  succeeding  day  for  a  fortnight ;  the 
patient  gradually  improving  during  that  period  when  he 
was  dismissed  as  cured,  no  other  application  having  been 
Used"  (Nervous  Derangement,  p.  224). 

The  second  is  from  Dr.  Carpenter,  and,  though  the 
event  is  of  over  two  hundred  years  ago,  is  regarded  as 
entirely  reliable.  The  subject  was  a  niece  of  Pascal, 
one  of  the  first  men  of  science  of  that  time.  The 
young  girl  was  sorely  afflicted  with  fistula  lachrymalis. 


35(3  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

It  was  at  a  time  when  the  orders  of  the  Jesuits  and 
Jansenists  were  at  the  height  of  their  hostility.  The 
account  proceeds  as  follows : 

"  The  poor  girl  had  been  threatened  with  the  *  actual 
cautery '  by  the  eminent  surgeon  under  whose  care  she 
was,  as  the  only  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  disease  of  the 
bones  of  the  nose,which  manifested  itself  in  an  intoler- 
able fetor ;  and  the  day  was  fixed  for  its  application. 
Two  days  previously,  however,  the  patient  walked  in 
procession  before  a  *  holy  thorn,' which  was  being  ex- 
hibited with  great  ceremony  in  the  chapel  of  the  con- 
vent ;  and  was  recommended  by  the  nuns,  as  she  passed 
before  the  altar,  to  apply  the  precious  relic  to  her  eye, 
and  implore  relief  from  the  dreaded  infliction.  This 
she  did,  no  doubt,  with  the  most  childlike  confidence  and 
heartfelt  sincerity ;  and  her  faith  was  rewarded  by  the 
favorable  change  which  took  place  within  a  few  hours,  and 
which  had  so  far  advanced  by  the  time  of  the  surgeon's 
next  visit,  that  he  wisely  did  not  interfere,  the  cure  in  a 
short  time  becoming  complete.  Of  course,  this  '  mira- 
cle '  was  vaunted  by  the  Jansenist  party  as  indicating 
the  special  favor  of  the  Virgin,  while  the  Jesuits  could 
scarcely  bring  themselves  to  believe  in  its  reality.  A 
most  careful  enquiry  was  made  by  direction  of  the  court ; 
the  testimony  of  the  surgeons  and  others,  who  knew  the 
exact  conditions  of  the  patient  both  before  and  after  the 
*  miracle '  (that  condition  being  patent  to  their  observa- 
tion), was  conclusive ;  and  the  reality  of  the  cure  could 
no  longer  be  denied,  though  it  remained  inconceivable 
to  the  Jesuits  that  a  miracle  should  have  been  worked 
in  favor  of  their  opponents  "  (Mental  Phys.,  p.  685). 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  357 

These  cures  occurred  without  any  effects  having  been 
produced  upon  the  fibers  of  the  impaired  structures 
but  those  by  the  mental  forces.  There  was  no  virtue 
in  the  thorn  itself,  nor  in  anything  attaching  to  it.  A 
thorn  from  a  neighboring  field,  if  this  should  not  have 
been  such,  if  surrounded  with  the  same  holy  mysteries 
in  the  mind  of  the  girl,  would  have  been  equally  effica- 
cious. And  so  likewise  the  paralytic  would  have  real- 
ized as  much  good  from  any  simple  object  conveniently 
at  hand,  if  unknown  to  him,  thrust  under  his  tongue  or 
otherwise  pretentiously  applied,  and  supposed  to  be  the 
great  agent  of  the  certain  cure.  To  impulses  of  mind, 
made  strong  and  persistent  by  expectant  attention  upon 
the  cure  that  loomed  above  all  doubt,  was  due  whatever 
change  to  structure  was  necessary  to  restoration. 

"  Miracles  "  of  this  kind  may  at  any  time  be  expected 
to  occur  under  conditions  of  this  character,  and  without, 
after  all,  being  miracles.  And  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  they  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  beyond 
the  saintly  limits  of  Lourdes  and  Knock,  and  without 
their  being  necessarily  the  works  of  any  order  of  super- 
natural interference. 

It  is,  then,  seen  that  the  very  quality  of  the  purpose 
becomes  imparted  to  the  substance.  The  expectance  of 
an  injury  is  followed  by  the  appearance  of  the  injury 
expected  and  imaginarily  seen — the  fiber  is  seized  and 
disturbed  in  a  way  to  correspond.  In  the  expectance  of 
the  removal  of  an  evil — the  healing  of  an  injured  part, 
the  fiber  is  seized  in  a  way  to  produce  restoration. 


358  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

That  all  should  be  available  for  such  phenomena  to 
the  extent  even  of  it  being  merely  perceivable,  is  not 
called  for.  People  vary  greatly  in  other  respects,  and 
why  not  in  this  ?  It  is  a  matter  of  mind  as  well  as  of 
body,  and  largely  of  education.  For  the  best  of  reasons, 
a  skeptic  or  one  of  ordinary  faith  in  historic  Christianity, 
could  not  possibly  be  a  subject  of  stigmata ;  while  one 
of  but  ordinary  faith  in  the  talismanic  virtues  of  relics, 
could  not  be  the  subject  of  the  cure  by  the  touch  of  the 
"  holy  thorn ; "  while,  reversely,  one  mentally  conditioned 
to  be  benefited  in  this  way,  would  probably  fail  to  realize 
the  paralytic's  cure  under  the  direction  of  merely  men 
of  science.  And  whether  with  or  without  religious  senti- 
ments, one  having  but  ordinary  believing  powers,  would 
be  expected  to  be  without  results  in  any  case. 

Science,  then,  as  the  state  of  human  attainment  now 
is,  to  find  bold  examples  of  the  working  of  this  law, 
would  look  more  hopefully  among  the  superstitious, 
where  believing  has  attained  to  greater  freedom  from 
doubt,  and  to  greater  strength ;  and  from  this  less  cult- 
ured class  of  minds,  for  still  more  striking  illustrations, 
would  look  forward  to  an  age  of  greater  culture  than  the 
present,  wherein  the  power  of  believing,  having  greater 
appreciation,would  be  nurtured  into  greater  prominence. 

By  these  testimonials  of  science,  mind  as  mind,  is 
seen  to  have  at  its  command,  a  means,  from  its  own 
seat,  apart  from  the  interlying  brain  and  other  nerves, 
to  move  external  substances  at  will, — however  limited 
this  means,  or  rare  the  requisite  conditions  for  its  em- 
ployment ;  also,  that  it  has  the  ability,  to  a  great  extent, 


THE    EELATION    OF    THE    TWO  WORLDS.         359 

to  characterize  those  movements  by  its  special  purposes. 
And  the  essential  conditions  being  in  the  mind  itself, 
whose  surrounding  elements  are,  ever,  to  some  extent, 
subservient  to  it,  it  could  not  be  necessary  that  the  mind 
should  be  a  being  of  this  world.  It  might  be  from  the 
next,  or  of  any  superior  world  beyond. 

And  as  these  means  are  seen  to  exist,  thus  limited, 
or  at  all,  in  the  use  of  minds  so  limited  and  hampered 
as  those  of  the  present  state,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  seen 
that  with  minds  of  the  greater  attainment,  to  be  met 
with  in  the  region  beyond  the  flesh,  the  principle  might 
be  employed  to  a  greater  extent — to  the  wielding  of 
ponderous  substances  or  gaining  measurable  or  joint 
control  of  the  organism  of  a  fellow  mind. 

But  merely  the  existence  of  the  means  of  intercourse 
between  the  two  worlds  and  not  the  extent  and  the  fre- 
quency of  the  employment  thereof,  is  here  established. 
That  is  a  subject  for  further  consideration. 

On  recalling  the  facts  we  have  developed,  the  possi- 
bility of  intercourse  would  consist  of 

ABOUT  TWO  GENERAL  MODES. 

These  would  be,  first,  mind  acting  on  mind  directly,  as 
seen  in  part  in  Dr.  Esdaile's  case  of  mesmerism,  possi- 
bly inclusive  of  what  is  called  clairvoyance ;  and  second, 
external  phenomena  addressed  to  the  senses  in  conven- 
tional signs,  or  any  manner  of  external  demonstration. 
This  would  include  whatever  pertains  to  movements  of 
the  organism  or  any  signs  in  external  nature.  In  the 
first  instance,  the  impressions  received  and  those  re- 


360  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

turned,  mentally,  would  be  the  exchange  of  sentiments, 
which  would  be  intercourse.  In  the  second  place,  the 
mind  on  the  spiritual  side  would  make  itself  understood 
by  addressing  the  senses  of  the  one  on  the  mortal  side, 
much  after  the  manner  of  a  fellow  mortal,  by  some  form 
of  apparition.  The  answer  returned  to  the  spirit  would 
be  by  its  discernment  of  the  thought  transpiring  in  the 
mortal  party,  or  possibly  by  some  mode  of  personal 
sight  of  the  physical  phenomena  used  in  replying. 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  they  of  the  other  side 
would  have  less  difficulty  in  receiving  our  sentiments 
than  we  theirs.  They  might  be  in  possession  of  our  dis- 
patches and  we  without  even  the  means  of  knowing  of  it. 

From  the  nature  of  the  facts  governing  in  the  matter, 
and  they  are  of  a  very  tangible  character,  instances 
that  might  be  properly  termed  communications  from 
the  spirit  world,  could  not,  as  the  world  of  mankind 
now  is,  be  numerous,  however  common  might  be  the 
impressions  of  an  intangible  character  derived  from  that 
source.  What  has  been  said  of  unlikeness  in  minds 
being  a  hindrance  to  the  communication  of  thought,  ap- 
plies here.  So,  likewise,  the  difficulty  of  rendering  im- 
pressions directly  of  mind  upon  mind,  in  the  presence  of 
a  system  of  waking  senses  filling  the  mind  with  the 
glaring  realities  of  an  external  world,  which  only  the 
severest  discipline,  on  the  part  of  the  most  favored  minds, 
can  shut  out  or  render  passive,  is  almost  wholly  insur- 
mountable. So  that  nearly  every  door  of  this,  the  best 
and  most  available  route  between  the  worlds,  is,  for  the 
time,  closed  and  barred. 


THE  KELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WOKLDS.  361 

Then,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  seizing  and  the 
occupying  of  the  organism  of  a  fellow  mind  (after  the 
fashion  of  a  medium),  we  have  to  first  consider  that 
the  resident  mind  itself  continues  to  share  it  and  in 
some  measure  at  least  divides  the  control,  so  that  from 
this  cause  accuracy  of  work  would  be  quite  impossible. 
But  supposing,  for  the  sake  of  a  case,  that  the  organism 
were  wholly  vacated  for  the  new  incumbent,  there  would 
be  the  almost  inevitable  disparity  between  its  provisions 
— ^its  special  forms,  and  measures  of.  transmitting  power, 
and  the  new-comer  who  is  to  use  it.  And  this  trouble 
being  the  main  cause  of  aberrations,  and  always  result- 
ing in  some  form  of  mental  derangement,  in  resi- 
dents of  this  world,  the  results  of  such  occupancy,  or 
co-occupancy,  could  not  be  materially  otherwise  than  to 
some  extent  insanities,  and  unsafe. 

It  would  seem  that  the  most  sane  effects  of  spirits 
upon  physical  substances  would  be  such  as  might  take 
place  outside  of  the  aberrating  influences  of  the  living 
organism,  which  would,  by  what  we  have  seen,  be  hardly 
possible  with  ordinary  minds  in  either  world. 

DIM    REALIZATIONS    OF    ONE    WORLD   BY    THE    OTHER. 

Also,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  proportion  to  this  limited 
means  of  intercourse,  there  must  be  a  corresponding 
insensibility  of  each  other's  state  or  world.  Where 
there  are  no  adapted  senses  to  perceive,  there  must  be 
darkness  or  the  aspect  of  nothingness ;  which  fact,  in 
respect  to  this  case,  may  in  one  way  be  viewed  as  a 


362  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

painful  privation,  and  in  another — ^to  the  innumerable 
uninformed  and  weak— as  a  great  mercy.  That  we  do 
not  see  the  world  of  the  departed  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  we  are  without  requisite  senses,  and  additionally, 
that  we  have  a  system  of  senses  so  inexorably  fixing  our 
mind  on  this,  and  against  which  our  strong  yearnings 
are  of  little  or  no  avail.  The  same,  to  some  extent 
(and  with  the  average  new  arrival  there,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent), is  necessarily  true  of  the  residents  of  the  other 
world,  where,  the  nature  of  the  mind  being  the  same,  it 
requires  the  same  or  corresponding  facilities — senses 
for  communication  with  environments.  The  realness  of 
that  world  to  those  residing  there,  would  tend  to  lessen 
the  chances  of  clear  perceptions  respecting  this. 

Our  utter  diminutiveness  in  everything — the  total  ab- 
sence of  attainment  in  anything,  at  birth,  and  with 
nothing  in  respect  to  us  that  is  not  directly  descended 
from  our  ancestry,  makes  it  absolutely  certain  that  this 
world  is  our  true  beginning  place — that  we  never  existed 
in  another,  nor  had  prior  existence  in  this — have  then 
never  been  in  the  world  of  the  departed,  and  have 
nothing  to  remember  in  respect  to  it,  save  those  who 
from  us  have  entered  there.  It  is  otherwise  with  them. 
They  go  from  us  enlarged,  experienced,  and  full  of 
memories  of  their  previous  life  and  world,  now  only 
veiled  from  sight ;  and  hence  with  a  stronger  realization 
of  its  existence  and  the  existence  of  the  remaining  ones, 
with  their  conditions  and  affairs,  the  efforts  of  the  mind 
to  seize  enlightening  means  with  respect  to  these,  would 
be  more  successfully  made.     Hence,  we  and  our  world 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  363 

and  our  affairs,  might  well  be  better  known  to  them  than 
are  they  and  theirs  to  us. 

However,  the  thought  often  cherished  in  late  years, 
that  after  death  we  may  more  completely  behold  the 
scenery  of  this  world,  that  we  shall  be  conditioned  to  go 
all  over  its  broad  face  to  see  its  many  wonders  and  be  in- 
timately with  the  people  yet  residing  in  the  mortal  land, 
is  without  a  probability.  The  presences  of  the  departed, 
that  may  in  some  alleged  instances  well  be  believed  in, 
are  to  be  otherwise  understood.  The  principles  govern- 
ing the  conditions  of  this  intercourse,  provide  amply 
that  such  may  take  place ;  and  yet  that  they  are  not 
immediate,  personal  presences,  that  would  involve  a 
recognition  of  sensuous  nature  generally. 

The  nature  of  the  presence  may  be  measurably  com- 
prehended by  a  reference  to  telephonic  communication. 
Prior  to  this  device,  the  immediate  intercourse  of  friends 
not  personally  present  to  each  other,  evinced  not  the 
slightest  sign  of  a  possibility,  while  to-day  finds  them, 
by  means  of  a  passive  wire,  whispering  in  each  other's 
ears  by  use  of  Hterally  the  same  sounds  they  would  em- 
ploy in  the  same  room  with  one  another,  though  phys- 
ical nature,  hundreds  of  miles  in  thickness,  is  lying 
between  them.  The  identification  of  the  friend  might 
thus  be  complete ;  and  so  far  as  this  simple  transaction 
of  talking  is  concerned,  all  this  intervening  distance 
and  obstruction  is  annihilated  and  the  presence  has 
much  of  the  nature  of  realness,  and  is  quite  satisfying. 

But  not  so  of  the  surrounding  scenery.  It  continues 
utterly  concealed  by  the  interlying  obstructions.     At 


364  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

each  end  of  the  wire  is  located  a  bright  world, — a 
house  and  a  home  and  inmates.  Between  the 
worlds  the  forces  incident  to  the  wire,  afford  the 
only  means  of  the  perception  of  each  other. 

Similarly  to  this,  as  has  been  seen  in  various  illustra- 
tions, are  the  mental  forces  available  in  conveying  im- 
pressions between  remote  minds,  quite  independent  of 
environing  substance  and  external  senses ;  and  of  being 
projected  upon  a  line  to  a  specific  individual ;  rendering 
it  plainly  possible  to  excite  the  most  confident  and  sat- 
isfactory realization  of  the  immediate  personal  presence 
of  a  spiritual  being,  though  the  presence  be  not  a  fact.  The 
principle  may  readily  explain,  when  the  range  of  its 
possibilities  are  all  considered,  all  of  what  may  be  found 
to  be  real  instances  of  visitation  of  the  departed,  even 
to  bodily  appearances,  which  might,  all  the  way  from 
the  other  world,  be  miraged  upon  the  consciousness  of 
the  subject. 

For  numerous  reasons,  all  means  of  intercourse  must 
always  be  less  with  the  minds  of  less  attainment  in  that 
culture  which  includes  the  believing  powers,  while  no 
limit  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  extent  to  which  power  of 
this  kind  may  be  vested  in  spirits  of  the  highest  orders, 
who  are  ever  worthy  to  be  trusted  with  its  wise  adminis- 
tration. 

SPECIAL     DEVICES    FOR    THE     ATTAINMENT    OF    INTER- 
COURSE   IMPRACTICABLE,    DANGEROUS,  ETC. 

From  a  purely  practical  point  of  view,  a  few  words  of 
caution  may  here  be  parenthetically  placed  in  the  closing 


THE  RELATION  OP  THE  TWO  WORLDS.  365 

of  this  chapter.  In  connection  with  the  subject  of  in- 
tercourse between  the  two  worlds,  in  which,  at  all  times, 
many  have  been  deeply  interested,  with  varying  good 
and  ill,  probably  nothing  has  been  more  deplorable  than 
the  evil  results  of,  by  unwise  means,  seeking  to  facilitate 
it.  The  understanding  generally  has  been,  that  the  first 
step  to  be  taken  was  toward  becoming  entirely  passive 
to  impressions — ^toward  self-dispossession  of  all  resistance 
to  the  ingress  of  foreign  sentiments  and  agencies  from 
the  invisible  side, — ^unwisely  saying  to  unknown  appli- 
cants, "  Thy  will  be  done. " 

This  applies  not  alone  to  where  foreign  control  over 
self  was  sought,  but,  as  well,  where,  in  a  circle  or  society 
of  people,  for  the  purpose  of  intercourse  with  spirits, 
effort  was  being  made.  And  such  requirement  is  not 
without  good  reasons.  With  a  view  to  attaining  the  re- 
sults sought,  these  conditions  become  a  necessity ;  on 
the  same  principle  that  when  one  wishes  the  full  benefit 
of  a  teacher  or  leader  he  renders  himself  passive  to  his 
wish.  But  in  these  cases  the  trouble  is  that  no  definite 
principle  or  character  of  thought  is  made  requisition 
for.  In  passively  following  a  guide  who  is  known  as  to 
his  sentiments,  a  definite  and  exclusive  purpose  is  main- 
tained ;  and  the  mind  retains  in  possession  the  elements 
of  resistance  and  of  aggression,  and  remains  really  as 
invulnerable  to  improper  sentiments  as  at  any  time; 
while  here  it  is  materially  otherwise.  Without  a  knowl- 
edge or  a  concern,  as  is  often  the  case  (and  what  the 
end — impartial  deliverance  of  messages  to  second  parties 
— ^really  calls  for),  as  to  what  shall  be  the  character  of 


366  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

the  principle  transmitted,  one  is  liable  to  attain  to  little 
or  no  choice  of  principles  or  motives ;  and  in  this  state, 
for  want  of  its  exercise,  will  presently  be  without  requisite 
power  to  hold  to  the  higher  principles,  and  in  place,  will 
accept  and  go  into  identification  with,  the  lower. 

There  is  not  room  to  here  go  into  detail,  but  the  re- 
sults, when  rightly  canvassed,  may  generally  be  found 
to  harmonize  with  this  conclusion.  If  the  body  under- 
goes deterioration  under  the  unnatural  nervous  processes, 
as  is  generally  seen,  the  evil  effects  on  the  mind  and 
morals,  are  at  least  equally,  and  often  still  more,  to  be 
deplored. 

IN   CONCLUSION. 

The  illusions  of  mind  are  so  abundant  and  versatile, 
that  it  were  difficult  to  determine  when  we  have  an  in- 
stance of  real  spirit  intercourse.  There  often  are  phe- 
nomena reported  that  are  inexplicable  by  any  other 
theory.  But  whether  the  conditions  were  adequately 
seen,  however  conscientiously  reported,  may,  again,  at 
times,  admit  of  doubt.  In  all  cases  it  were  safer  to 
rely  on  the  element  of  enlightened  reason,  than  on  sen- 
suous observation  of  alleged  facts  of  intercourse,  for  the 
proof  of  a  future  life.  For  while  the  most  unsuggest- 
ive  occurrence  might  be  a  real  instance  of  the  phenom- 
ena, a  strongly  suggestive  one  might  contain  nothing 
of  it. 

By  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  conditions  of  it 
are  obscure,  and  it  may  mix  with  a  long  train  of  our 
most    ordinary   thoughts   and  transactions,   and  with 


THE    RELATION  OF    THE    TWO  WORLDS.         367 

many  people  may  make  a  large  part  of  their  life  ex- 
periences; while  others,  who  may  be  overpoweringly 
impressed  that  they  are  habitually  having  intercourse 
with  the  departed,  are  simply  suffering  from  nervous 
disorders. 


CHAPTEE  XTIIl. 

Consideration  of  the  Claims  op  Intercourse  between 
THE  Two  Worlds. — The  Probable  and  Improbable. 
— Its  Appearance  in  the  Bible,  Etc. 

THE  brief  space  allotted  to  this  chapter  will  not  ad- 
mit the  discussion  to  extend  far  into  the  details  of 
theories,  and  to  many  of  the  alleged  facts,  of  inter- 
course between  the  residents  of  the  two  worlds.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  set  forth  the  principles  that  apply 
from  the  facts  already  submitted,  with  a  few  more  facts 
in  which  their  still  further  working  may  be  seen. 

Man  may  be  supposed  to  be  attended  in  all  ages  by 
some  measure  and  form  of  the  phenomena  of  his  entire 
nature,  sufficiently  distinct  for  recognition.  This  may 
be  supposed  to  differ  with  the  changes  he  is  constantly 
undergoing ;  not  only  because  change  in  himself  would 
have  a  corresponding  effect  upon  the  phenomena,  but 
no  less  because,  in  the  judgment  of  the  controlling  mind 
or  minds  above  him,  his  needs  undergo  change.  In  in- 
fancy, childhood,  youth,  maturity  and  old  age,  the  same 
general  nature  appears,  but,  in  passing  through  the 
range  of  these  stages,  at  each,  some  habits  and  uses  are 
laid  off  and  others  taken  on,  always  toward  more  personal 
prerogatives  and  wider  independence.     At  mature  in- 

368 


CLAIMS  OF  INTEBCOUBSE.  369 

fancy  the  child  leaves  the  mother's  nipple  and  takes  the 
spoon,  while  from  the  nourishment  of  milk  it  goes  to 
the  nourishment  of  bread.  On  entering  youth  it  re- 
leases the  parent  from  much  of  the  care  over  its  own 
person ;  to  the  perceptive  habit  of  thought,  which  was 
the  main  feature  of  mind  to  be  seen  in  childhood,  it 
adds  the  reflective — stakes  up  abstract  studies,  general- 
izes principles,  and  lays  out  for  itself  in  the  future. 
The  parental  government  remaining  over  it,  employs 
less  sensuous  means  and  more  mental.  On  entering 
matunty  the  parental  government  is  mostly  discon- 
tinued, and  the  ability  to  govern  and  manage  is  so  en- 
larged as  to  include  the  government  and  management  of 
others.  On  arriving  at  the  greater  period  of  old  age, 
the  mind  leaves  more  fully  the  narrow  limits  of  selfish- 
ness— of  local  and  self  interest — and  grows  cosmopol- 
itan. From  the  exclusive  love  of  the  few — ^the  home, 
the  state  and  the  nation — it  enlarges  to  include  the  na- 
tions and  the  entire  race;  and  from  the  deferential 
esteem  of  human  superiors,  enlarges  to  include  more 
fully  the  homage  of  the  Infinite  Mind. 

He  who  has  looked  upon  the  progress  of  the  race,  during 
its  historic  period,  will  not  fail  to  see  in  the  history  of 
the  human  mind,  the  same  graduated  scale — one  stage 
and  class  of  wants  rising  upon  another,  without  any  de- 
parture from  the  essential  nature.  In  the  earlier  ages, 
with  individual  exceptions,  the  aggregate  mind  is  dis- 
tinctly seen  to  have  been  weak  and  fickle,  as  is  generally 
true  of  childhood ;  at  once  bringing  to  view  the  small 
attainment  of   reflective   powers.     The   form  of  mind 

24 


S70  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

present  and  employed,  was  chiefly  the  perceptive  and 
sensuous,  which  could  be  evoked  only  by  external  appear- 
ances— by  some  sort  of  outward  physical  sensation. 
Government  was  possible,  mainly, by  reference  to  sensuous 
pain.  In  this  way,  mainly,  could  the  people  be  made 
to  see  and  have  regard  to  limits  placed  by  social  law. 
And  in  respect  to  instruction  of  any  character,  the  prin- 
ciples w"ere  necessary  to  be  brought  within  reach  of  this 
means  of  knowing. 

Then,  to  establish  confidence  in  the  existence  of  the 
spiritual  state  of  being,  so  important  to  the  stimulation 
of  mental  and  moral  growth,  philosophy,  without  suffi- 
cient reasoning  abilities,  being  inapplicable,  resort  could 
only  be  had  to  addressing  phenomena  of  this  character 
to  the  eye.  And  supposing  that  there  was  an  adequate 
power  at  the  time  ministering  to  man's  needs,  wisely 
directing  for  him  according  to  the  means  at  hand,  as  we 
would  do  by  a  child,  and  as  it  is  safe  to  say  an  interested 
superior  state  would  have  done,  we  would  expect  to  find 
phenomena  of  a  spiritual  character  to  have  been  more 
abundant  and  striking,  with  people  in  those  far-back 
ages,  than  at  the  present  time.  Besides,  the  feeble  con- 
dition of  the  general  mind,  with  a  view  to  attaining 
mental  and  moral  development,  might  well  have  ren- 
dered the  impression  of  spiritual  phenomena  indispen- 
sable. 

But,  as  to  the  prevalence  of  alleged  phenomena  of 
intercourse  between  the  worlds,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  the  people,  one  age  may  represent  as  much 
of  it  as  another.     And  if  there  might  be  more  found  in 


CLAIMS  OF  INTERCOUKSE.  371 

one  age  than  in  others,  it  should  be  in  that  where  ner- 
vous energy  is  undergoing  the  greatest  tax.  All  kinds 
of  nervous  affections,  with  their  modifying  effects  on 
mental  actions,  as  a  rule,  are  more  frequent  with  peo- 
ple who  are  performing  more  brain  labor. 

However,  in  no  age  may  this  intercourse  t)e  found  to 
have  been  as  common  as  is  generally  claimed  by  believ- 
ers. After  counting  out  the  frauds,  and  the  instances  of 
which  the  explanation  may  be  readily  found  by  reference 
to  the  laws  governing  the  hallucinations  of  mind,  what 
will  be  left,  will,  in  most  cases,  be  found  but  a  small  per- 
centage. All  ages  have  had  their  jugglers,  outwitting 
the  most  shrewd  of  non-professionals,  drawing  public 
patronage  by  imposing  claims  of  holding  intercourse 
with  the  dead.  And,  as  a  rule,  to  which  there  may  be 
honorable  exceptions,  on  the  ground  of  wide  prevailing 
frauds  of  this  kind,  professionals  are  to  be  regarded  as 
unsafe.  By  a  credulity  rendered  doubly  strong  by  keen 
desire  for  evidence  of  the  survival  of  the  beloved  dead, 
on  a  large  class  of  good,  intelligent  people,  the  claims 
of  these  jugglers  are  imposed  without  difficulty,  and  when 
it  may  seem  to  them  that  they  have  guarded  with  due 
care  every  point. 

But  there  are  incidents  at  times  occurring  where  only 
the  purest  integrity  could  be  ascribed,  such  as  seeing 
the  departed  alive,  face  to  face,  and  perhaps  engaging 
them  in  conversation,  which  certainly  would  be  very 
convincing  to  any  ordinary  person.  The  conversation 
might,  likewise,  disclose,  on  the  part  of  the  visitant, 
such  knowledge,  of  private  character,  present  or  past, 


372  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

pertaining  to  the  consulting  individual,  as  would  be  of 
great  additional  force.  The  spiritualistic  literature  of 
our  own  day,  with  its  unending  variety  and  numbers  of 
detailed  incidents  would  hardly  supply  a  really  stronger 
example.  And  yet  the  apparition  might  be  no  more 
than  a  subjective  experience, — either  from  a  strongly 
excited  imagination — the  image-creating  power — or  from 
an  intensely  vivid  memorization,  or,  still  more  likely, 
from  the  joint  occurrence  of  both ;  but  be  no  more  really 
a  second  party  or  outside  spiritual  being,  than  is  the  ar- 
tist's fancy  sketch,  standing  in  the  canvas,  a  real  per- 
son. Nor  would  the  incidental  conversation,  with  the 
substance  thereof,  be  necessarily  anything  different  in 
kind  from  an  imaginary  conversation,  in  which  the  re- 
sponding words  necessarily  also  appear  conveying  the 
thoughts  imagined  to  be  existing  in  the  imaginary  party. 
Hallucinations  of  this  kind,  as  well  as  of  others,  in 
endless  variety,  are  known  to  result  of  physical  derange- 
ment.    Dr.  Hammond  says : 

"  Physical  causes,  calculated  to  increase  the  amount 
of  blood  in  the  brain  or  to  alter  its  quality,  may  give 
rise  to  hallucinations  of  various  kinds.  A  gentleman 
under  the  professional  care  of  the  writer,  can  always 
cause  the  appearance  of  images  by  tying  a  handkerchief 
moderately  tight  around  his  neck ;  and  there  is  one  form 
which  is  always  the  first  to  come  and  the  last  to  disap- 
pear. It  consists  of  a  male  figure  clothed  in  costume 
worn  in  England  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  bearing 
a  striking  resemblance  to  the  portraits  of  Sir  Walter 
Ealeigh.     This  figure  not  only  imposes  on  the  sight  but 


CLAIMS  OF  INTERCOUESE.  373 

also  on  the  hearing ;  for  questions  put  to  it  are  answered 
promptly  "  (Nervous  Derangement,  p.  233). 

The  doctor  in  this  same  connection  and  place  submits 
an  instance  related  in  Nicholson's  Journal,  which  is  as 
follows : 

"  I  know  a  gentleman  in  the  vigor  of  life,  who,  in  my 
opinion,  is  not  exceeded  by  any  one  in  acquired  knowl- 
edge and  originality  of  deep  research;  and  who  for 
nine  months  in  succession  was  always  visited  by  a  fig- 
ure of  the  same  man,  threatening  to  destroy  him,  at 
the  time  of  his  going  to  rest.  It  appeared  upon  his  ly- 
ing down,  and  instantly  disappeared  when  he  resumed 
the  erect  position  "  (vol.  6.,  p.  166). 

The  explanation  rendered  is  the  very  natural  one, 
that  "the  recumbent  position  facilitated  the  flow  of 
blood  to  the  brain,  and  at  the  same  time  tended,  in  a 
measure,  to  retard  its  exit.  Hence,  the  appearance  of 
the  figure  was  due  to  the  resulting  congestion.  As  soon 
as  the  gentleman  rose  from  bed  the  reverse  condition 
existed,  the  congestion  disappeared  and  the  apparition 
went  with  it. " 

Apparitions  from  this  cause,  at  times,  are  accompa- 
nied with  the  sensation  of  their  tangibility — with  the 
ability  to  employ  force,  as  sometimes  occurs  in  dreams 
when  one  undergoes  an  act  of  force  administered  upon 
his  person,  possibly  strong  enough  to  wake  him,  and 
from  which  he  may  have  sensations  of  soreness  follow- 
ing into  the  waking  state, — being  the  result  of  a  specif- 
ically directed  mental  shock  as  in  the  case  of  the  bruised 
fingers  and  ankle.    And  here  is,  opportunely,  also,  a  case 


374  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

well  illustrating  this,  though  meant  for  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent purpose,  cited  by  the  same  authority.     He  says : 

"Mayo  (in  "Lessons  on  the  Truths  Contained  in 
Popular  Superstitions, ")  relates  the  case  of  a  Herr  von 
Baczko,  already  subject  to  hallucinations,  his  right  side 
weak  from  paralysis,  his  right  eye  blind,  and  the  vision 
of  the  left  imperfect,  who,  while  one  evening  engaged  in 
translating  a  pamphlet  into  Polish,  suddenly  felt  a  poke 
in  his  back.  He  turned  round  and  discovered  that  it 
proceeded  from  a  negro  or  Egyptian  boy,  apparently 
about  twelve  years  of  age.  Although  convinced  that  the 
whole  was  an  hallucination,  he  thought  it  best  to  knock 
the  apparition  down,  when  he  felt  that  it  afforded  a  sen- 
sible resistance.  The  boy  then  attacked  him  on  the 
other  side  and  gave  his  left  arm  a  peculiarly  disagree- 
able twist,  when  Baczko  again  pushed  him  off.  The 
negro  continued  to  visit  him  constantly  during  four 
months,  preserving  the  same  appearance  and  remaining 
tangible,  then  he  came  seldomer,  and  finally  appearing 
as  a  brown  colored  apparition  with  an  owl's  head,  he 
took  his  leave  "  (ibid,  p.  234). 

Whatever  may  be  the  causes  of  the  physical  disturb- 
ances, hallucinations  of  this  character  directly  result 
from  them ;  they  come  with  them  and  with  them  also 
disappear. 

However,  apparitions  of  the  dead,  not  alone,  are  re- 
ported,but  also  of  the  living; and  why  should  they  not? 
Mr.  Robert  Dale  Owen,  a  spiritualist,  and  yet  a  very 
conservative,  careful,  and  candid  writer,  in  1861  wrote 
a  work  that  circulated  largely  among  thoughtful  readers 
of  this  country  and  England,  in  which  we  find  the  fol- 


CLAIMS  OF  INTERCOUESE.  375 

lowing  statement,  taken  from  a  lady,  then  residing  in 
Washington,  and  who  was  the  daughter  of  a  western 
clergyman  of  well-known  reputation.  In  every  respect 
it  seems  to  be  well  authenticated.  The  lady  relates  two 
such  apparitions  having  taken  place  in  one  day  at  her 
residence  in  Indiana,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  Eiver : 

"  On  the  15th  day  of  September,  1845,"  said  Mrs.  D., 
"my  younger  sister,  J.,  was  married,  and  came  with  her 
husband,  Mr.  H.  M.,  to  pass  a  portion  of  the  honey- 
moon in  our  pleasant  retreat.  On  the  18th  of  the 
same  month,  we  all  went,  by  invitation,  to  spend  the  day 
at  a  friend's  house  about  a  mile  distant.  As  twilight 
came  on,  finding  my  two  little  ones  growing  restless,  we 
decided  to  return  home.  After  waiting  some  time  for 
my  sister's  husband,  who  had  gone  off  to  pay  a  visit  in 
a  neighboring  village,  saying  he  would  return  soon,  we 
set  out  without  him.  Arrived  at  home,  my  sister,  who 
occupied  an  upper  room,  telling  me  she  would  go  and 
change  her  walking  dress,  proceeded  up  stairs,  while  I 
remained  below  to  see  my  drowsy  babes  safe  in  bed. 
The  moon,  I  remember,  was  shining  brightly  at  the  time. 
Suddenly,  after  a  minute  or  two,  my  sister  burst  into 
the  room,  ^vringing  her  hands  in  despair,  and  weeping 
bitterly.  *0h,  sister,  sister!'  she  exclaimed,  *I  shall 
lose  him,  I  know  I  shall !  Hugh  is  going  to  die ! '  In 
the  greatest  astonishment,  I  inquired  what  was  the 
matter ;  and  then  between  sobs,  she  related  to  me  the 
cause  of  her  alarm  as  follows : 

"  As  she  ran  up  stairs  to  their  room  she  saw  her  hus- 
band seated  at  the  extremity  of  the  upper  veranda,  his 
hat  on,  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  and  his  feet  on  the  railing, 


376  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

apparently  enjoying  the  cool  river  breeze.  Supposing, 
of  course,  that  he  had  returned  before  we  did,  she  ap- 
proached him,  saying,  '  Why,  Hugh,  when  did  you  get 
here  ?  Why  did  you  not  return  and  come  with  us  ? '  As 
he  made  no  reply,  she  went  up  to  him,  and  bride-like, 
was  about  to  put  her  arms  around  his  neck,  when,  to 
her  horror,  the  figure  was  gone  and  the  chair  empty.  * 

*  *  It  was  not  till  more  than  two  hours  afterward, 
when  my  brother-in-law  actually  returned,  that  she  re- 
sumed her  tranquillity. 

"Previous  to  this,  however, — namely,  about  an  hour 
before  Hugh's  return, — while  we  were  sitting  in  the 
parlor  on  the  lower  floor,  I  saw  a  boy,  some  sixteen 
years  of  age,  look  in  at  the  door  of  the  room.  It  was 
a  lad  whom  my  husband  employed  to  work  in  the  gar- 
den and  about  the  house,  and  who,  in  his  leisure  hours, 
used  to  take  great  delight  in  amusing  my  little  son 
Frank,  of  whom  he  was  very  fond.  He  was  dressed  as 
was  his  wont,  in  a  suit  of  blue  summer  cloth,  with  an 
old  palm-leaf  hat  without  a  band,  and  he  advanced,  in 
his  usual  bashful  way,  a  step  or  two  into  the  room,  then 
stopped  and  looked  around  apparently  in  search  of 
something.  Supposing  he  was  looking  for  the  children, 
I  said  to  him,  *  Frank  is  in  bed,  Silas,  and  asleep  long 
ago.'  He  did  not  reply,  but,  turning  with  a  quiet  smile 
that  was  common  to  him,  left  the  room,  and  I  noticed  from 
the  window,  that  he  lingered  near  the  outside  door, 
walking  backward  and  forward  before  it  once  or  twice. 

*  *  *  Shortly  after,  my  husband,  coming  in,  said, 
*I  wonder  where  Silas  is?  He  must  be  somewhere 
about.'  I  replied,  *  He  was  here  a  few  minutes  since, 
and  I  spoke  to  him.'     Thereupon  Mr.  D.  went  out  and 


CLAIMS  OF  INTEECOUKSE.  377 

called  him,  but  no  answer.  He  sought  him  all  over  the 
premises,  then  in  his  room,  but  in  vain.  *  *  *  At 
breakfast  he  first  made  his  appearance.  *  Where  have 
you  been,  Silas?'  said  Mr.  D.  The  boy  replied  that 
he  had  been  *up  on  the  island  fishing.'  'But,'  I  said, 
*you  were  here  last  night.'  *0h,  no,'  he  replied,  with 
the  simple  accent  of  truth.  *  Mr.  D.  gave  me  leave  to 
go  fishing  yesterday ;  and  I  understood  I  need  not  re- 
turn till  this  morning ;  so  I  stayed  away  all  night.  I 
have  not  been  near  here  since  yesterday  morning.' 

"  I  could  not  doubt  the  lad's  word.  He  had  no  motive 
for  deceiving  us.  The  island,  of  which  he  spoke,  was 
two  miles  distant  from  our  house.     *     * 

"  It  is  proper  I  should  add  that  my  sister's  impression 
that  the  apparition  of  her  husband  foreboded  death  did 
not  prove  true.  He  outlived  her;  and  no  misfortune 
which  could  in  any  way  connect  with  the  appearance 
happened  in  the  family.  Nor  did  Silas  die ;  nor,  so  far 
as  I  know,  did  anything  unusual  happen  to  him " 
(Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,  pp.  321, 
324. — Lippincott  &  Co.,  Publishers). 

What  was  the  physical  condition  of  such  unusual 
character,  in  which  these  sisters  were  for  the  time 
affected  so  nearly  alike,  may  not  be  easily  determined ; 
but  the  representations  were  so  perfect  in  all  respects  as  to 
be  indistinguishable  from  the  real  persons.  No  in- 
stance of  spirit  visitation  would  be  more  unquestionable. 
And  yet  that  they  were  subjective,  and  not  at  all  object- 
ive, impressions,  is  too  plain  to  be  doubted.  The  sis- 
ter followed  an  illusion  of  her  own  mental  creation. 
She  had  rushed  toward  an  empty  chair ;  and  the  said 


378  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

Mrs.  D.  addressed  her  words  to  empty  space.  When  in 
the  shadowy  evening  the  belated  boy  sees  a  stump  or  a 
stone  transformed  into  a  crouching  beast,  the  super- 
added features  there  appearing  to  complete  its  form,  are 
but  subjective  facts  of  his  own  mind. 

But  there  is  another  feature  to  be  here  considered — 
one  of  no  small  importance  to  this  whole  matter — which 
is  that  the  same  mental  specter  may  at  the  same  time 
be  apparent  to  quite  a  number.  Dozens,  hundreds,  per- 
haps thousands,  may  be  quite  instantaneously  affected 
in  the  same  manner.  The  fact  has  variously  been  re- 
ferred to,  that  mind  to  some  extent  acts  directly  on  mind ; 
that,  as,  by  means  of  an  element  in  common,  magnets 
exert  force  on  each  other,  so  minds  are  related  and  par- 
take in  some  measure  of  each  other's  conception  of 
thought, — that  the  same  mental  image  to  which  fancy 
might  excite  one  mind,  might  at  once  become  com- 
mon ;  as  all  along  the  wire,  to  the  open  offices,  the  same 
dispatch  is  simultaneously  rattled  off.  Then,  where 
people  are  situated  together  in  a  humdrum,  passive 
sort  of  way,  or  in  a  way  to  make  their  senses  and 
feelings  run  together  into  a  common  channel,  with  some 
measure  of  the  realization  of  exclusiveness  therewith, 
as  on  ship-board,  or  in  a  military  body,  a  long-con- 
tinued one-sided  meeting,  or  a  mediumistic  circle,  such 
phenomena  would  be  properly  expected  to  occur.  In 
this  way,  people  of  good  minds  might  readily  partake 
of  a  delusion  of  a  very  surprising  character. 

Pacts  of  this  character  are  not  at  all  uncommon. 


CLAIMS  OF  INTERCOURSE.  379 

Dr.  D.  H.  Tuke,  eminently  trustworthy,  is  authority  for 
the  following : 

"  A  curious  illustration  of  the  influence  of  the  im- 
agination in  magnifying  the  perceptions  of  sensorial  im- 
pressions derived  from  the  outer  world,  occurred  during 
the  conflagration  of  the  Crystal  Palace  in  the  winter 
of  1866-7.  When  the  animals  were  destroyed,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  chimpanzee  had  succeeded  in  escap- 
ing from  his  cage.  Attracted  to  the  roof  with  this  ex- 
pectation in  full  force,  men  saw  the  unhappy  animal 
holding  on  to  it  and  writhing  in  agony  to  get  astride 
one  of  the  iron  ribs.  It  need  not  be  said  that  its  strug- 
gles were  watched  by  those  below  with  breathless  sus- 
pense, as  the  newspapers  informed  us,  with  '  sickening 
dread.*  But  there  was  no  animal  whatever  there,  and 
all  this  feeling  was  thrown  away  upon  a  tattered  piece 
of  blind,  so  torn  as  to  resemble,  to  the  eye  of  fancy,  the 
body,  arms  and  legs  of  an  ape  "  (Illustrations  of  the 
Influence  of  the  Mind  upon  the  Body,  etc.,  London,  p. 
44). 

Another  illustration  is  given  in  a  fact  cited  by  Dr.  Hib- 
bert,  of  Edinburgh.  I  quote  it,  also,  from  Dr.  Hammond. 
It  is  from  a  statement  by  a  sea  captain  of  Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  His  cook, "  he  said,  "  chanced  to  die  on  their  pas- 
sage homeward.  The  honest  fellow  having  had  one  of 
his  legs  a  little  shorter  than  the  other,  used  to  walk  in 
that  way  which  our  vulgar  idiom  calls  *up  and  down.' 
A  few  nights  after  his  body  had  been  committed  to  the 
deep,  our  captain  was  alarmed  by  his  mate  with  an  ac- 
count that  the  cook  was  walking  before  the  ship,  and 


380  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

that  all  hands  were  on  deck  to  see  him.  The  captain 
after  an  oath  or  two  for  having  been  disturbed,  ordered 
them  to  let  him  alone  and  try  which,  the  ship  or  he, 
should  first  get  to  Newcastle.  But  turning  out  on 
further  importunity,  he  honestly  confessed  that  he  had 
like  to  have  caught  the  contagion,  for,  on  seeing  some- 
thing move  in  a  way  so  similar  to  that  his  old  friend 
used,  and  withal  having  a  cap  on  so  like  that  he  was 
wont  to  wear,  he  verily  thought  there  was  more  in  the 
report  than  he  was  at  first  willing  to  believe.  A  gen- 
eral panic  diffused  itself.  He  ordered  the  ship  to  be 
steered  toward  the  object,  but  not  a  man  would  move 
the  helm.  Compelled  to  do  this  himself,  he  found  on  a 
nearer  approach,  that  the  ridiculous  cause  of  all  their 
terror  was  a  part  of  a  main-top,  the  remains  of  some 
wreck  floating  before  them "  (Nervous  Derangements, 
pp.  237,  238) 

An  Italian  writer  relates  the  assembling  of  a  crowd 
of  people  on  the  streets  of  Florence  to  see  an  angel 
hovering  in  the  sky ;  which  was  found  to  be  merely  a 
gilded  figure  of  an  angel  mounted  above  the  dome  of 
a  church.  A  mist  had  somewhat  obscured  the  dome 
itself,  while  above  it  the  sun  was  reflecting  on  the  image. 

A  similar  and  very  remarkable  event  of  this  charac- 
ter is  also  given  in  this  connection  by  Dr.  Hammond, 
and  credited  to  the  celebrated  French  physician,  M. 
Parent,  who  died  in  1836.  The  account  is  taken  from 
Laurent  in  his  own  words  substantially  as  follows : 

"  The  first  battalion  of  the  regiment  of  Latour  d'Au- 
vergne,  of  which  I  was  surgeon-major,  while  in  garrison 
at  Palmi  in  Calabria,  received  orders  to  march  at  once 


CLAIMS  OF  INTEKCOUKSE.  381 

to  Tropea  in  order  to  oppose  the  landing  from  a  fleet 
which  threatened  that  part  of  the  country.  *  *  * 
When  they  reached  Tropea  they  found  their  camp  ready 
and  their  quarters  prepared,  but  as  the  battalion  had 
come  from  the  farthest  point  and  was  the  last  to  arrive, 
they  were  assigned  the  worst  barracks,  and  thus  eight 
hundred  men  were  lodged  in  a  place  which,  in  ordinary 
times,  would  not  have  sufficed  for  half  their  number. 
They  were  crowded  together  on  straw  placed  on  the 
ground  and,  being  without  covering,  were  unable  to  un- 
dress. The  building  in  which  they  were  placed  was  an 
old,  abandoned  abbey,  and  the  inhabitants  had  pre- 
dicted that  they  would  not  be  able  to  stay  there  all 
night  in  peace,  as  it  was  frequented  by  ghosts,  which 
had  disturbed  other  regiments  quartered  there.  We 
laughed  at  their  credulity ;  but  what  was  our  surprise 
to  hear  about  midnight  the  most  fearful  cries  proceeding 
from  every  comer  of  the  abbey,  and  to  see  the  soldiers 
rushing  terrified  from  the  building.  I  questioned  them 
in  regard  to  the  cause  of  their  alarm,  and  all  replied 
that  the  devil  lived  in  the  building,  and  that  they  had 
seen  him  enter  by  an  opening,  into  their  room,  under 
the  figure  of  a  very  large  dog  with  long  black  hair,  and 
throwing  himself  upon  their  chests  for  an  instant,  had 
disappeared  through  another  opening  in  the  opposite 
side  of  the  apartment.  We  laughed  at  their  conster- 
nation, and  endeavored  to  prove  to  them  the  phenom- 
enon was  due  to  a  very  simple  and  natural  cause  and 
was  only  the  effect  of  their  imagination ;  but  we  failed 
to  convince  them,  nor  could  we  persuade  them  to  return 
to  their  barracks.  They  passed  the  night  scattered 
along  the  sea-shore,  and  in  various  parts  of  the  town. 


382  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

In  the  morning  I  questioned  anew  the  non-commissioned 
officers  and  some  of  the  oldest  soldiers.  They  assured 
me  that  they  were  not  accessible  to  fear ;  that  they  did 
not  believe  in  dreams  or  ghosts,  but  that  they  were  fully 
persuaded  that  they  had  not  been  deceived  in  respect  to 
the  events  of  the  preceding  night.  They  said  that  they 
had  not  fallen  asleep  when  the  dog  appeared,  that  they 
had  obtained  a  good  view  of  him,  and  that  they  were 
almost  suffocated  when  he  leaped  on  their  breasts. 

"  We  remained  all  day  at  Tropea,  and  the  town  being 
full  of  troops  we  were  forced  to  retain  the  same  bar- 
racks, but  we  could  not  make  the  soldiers  sleep  in  them 
again  without  our  promise  that  we  would  pass  the  night 
with  them.  I  went  there  at  half  past  eleven  with  the 
commanding  of&cer;  the  other  officers  were,  more  for 
curiosity's  sake  than  anything  else,  distributed  in  the 
several  rooms.  We  scarcely  expected  to  witness  a  repe- 
tition of  the  events  of  the  preceding  night,  for  the  sol- 
diers had  gone  to  sleep  reassured  by  the  presence  of 
their  officers  who  remained  awake.  But  at  about  one 
o'clock  in  all  the  rooms  at  the  same  time,  the  cries  of 
the  previous  night  were  repeated,  and  again  the  soldiers 
rushed  out  to  escape  the  suffocating  embraces  of  the 
big  black  dog.  We  had  all  remained  awake  watching 
for  what  might  happen,  but,  as  may  be  supposed,  had 
seen  nothing"  (Nervous  Derangement,  pp.  239,  240). 

In  this  case  the  minds  of  the  eight  hundred,  or  nearly 
so,  were  merged  into  a  oneness  of  mental  sensibility — 
into  a  common  medium  of  mental  sense  and  activity, 
so  that  the  same  specter  would  be  created,  and  alike 
deported,  in  all  these  minds  in  the  same  instant  of  time. 


CLAIMS   OF   INTERCOUESE.  383 

In  aU  the  departments  of  the  house  the  dog  was  the 
same,  and  each  man  had  the  same  horrible  hug  from 
him.  In  one  instance  when,  as  the  men  protested,  they 
were  awake,  in  the  other  when  they  were  asleep ;  which, 
however,  could  be  of  no  consequence.  But  the  officers, 
who  were  socially  separate  and  not  included  in  this  fu- 
sion of  mind,  were  not  hallucinated — did  not  see  nor 
feel  the  dog.  That  it  was  a  nightmare,  as  the  doctors 
concluded,  may  be  true  enough  so  far  as  that  definition 
goes ;  but  the  only  fact  of  interest  remains  thereby  un- 
explained, and  may  be  explained  only  on  the  principle 
I  have  been  setting  forth,  here  and  elsewhere,  and  of 
which  it  is  a  capital  illustration. 

This  principle  of  hallucination,  if  the  necessary  facts 
eould  be  obtained,  would,  with  hardly  a  doubt,  supply 
a  ready  explanation  to  many  of  the  chief  wonders  of 
"  physical  phenomena  "  in  alleged  spirit  intercourse ; 
while,  in  the  imposition  of  fraud,  by  parties  capable  of 
establishing  its  conditions,  its  application  would  often 
supply  an  indispensable  help.  Under  proper  conditions, 
(into  which  any  one  who  is  an  honest  investigator  may 
drift,  provided  his  temperamental  make-up  is  of  the  req- 
uisite impressibility),  without  regard  to  education  and 
integrity,  it  spares  no  one. 

Mr.  Kobert  Dale  Owen,  previously  cited,  a  well-known 
American  author  and  statesman,  and  a  man  of  special 
integrity  and  of  a  careful,  conservative  nature,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  made  a  victim  of  delusion  in  the 
"  Katie  King  "  affair  in  Philadelphia  a  few  years  ago. 
A  quite  detailed  report  of  these  interviews  with  "  Katie  " 


384  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

was  published  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  January, 
1875,  over  Mr.  Owen's  own  signature.  The  interviews 
— "forty  memorable  sittings  " — ^were  held  in  the  previous 
June  and  July,  and  were ,  attended  by  his  friend,  Dr. 
Child,  and  quite  a  number  of  others.  At  these  seances, 
many  "  materializations  "  besides  those  of  "  Katie  "^ 
were  exhibited  from  the  cabinet ;  some  of  whom  were 
immediately  recognized  by  parties  present.  But  always 
the  same  appearances  were  recognized  by  all  in  the 
same  way,  as  in  case  of  any  ordinary  exhibition.  What 
transpired  was,  indeed,  most  marvelous.  At  one  time, 
Mr.  0.  was  invited  by  "  Katie  "  to  cut  off  a  lock  of  her 
hair,  which  she  had  separated  with  her  own  fingers.  In 
a  short  time,  however,  the  ringlet  so  removed  by  Mr.  0. 
dissolved  from  view.  For  the  benefit  of  other  parties, 
she,  taking  the  scissors  herself,  cut  bits  from  her  dress 
and  veil,  whereof  the  openings  presently  disappeared 
and  the  garments  were  whole  again.  She  repeatedly 
walked  out  of  the  cabinet  in  the  presence  of  all ;  at 
times  advancing  and  touching  them,  and  imprinting  a 
kiss.  "Once,"  says  Mr.  Owen,  — "and  for  the  last 
time  that  evening — she  emerged  from  the  cabinet,  came 
quietly  close  up  to  me,  extending  a  hand.  I  passed  my 
left  arm  gently  round  her,  and  sustained  her  left  arm,  bare 
from  the  elbow,  in  my  right  hand.  To  the  touch  her 
garments  and  person  were  exactly  like  those  of  an 
eartKly  creature." 

Still  further  he  says  of  anothei'  sitting :  "  This  even- 
ing, having  observed  that  *  Katie '  delighted  in  flowers,  I 
handed  her  a  large  calla  lily.    She  smelt  it,  exclaiming : 


CLAIMS   OF  INTERCOUBSE.  385 

*  What  a  cJiarming  odor ! '  Each  time  that  evening  when 
she  issued  from  the  cabinet,  she  carried  the  flower  in 
her  hand.  I  begged  her,  if  she  could,  to  repeat  for  us 
the  phenomenon  of  disappearance,  and  had  placed  my- 
self so  that  I  could  see  her  entire  person  without  the  in- 
tervention of  any  part  of  the  cabinet  front.  It  is  an 
era  in  one's  life,  when  one  witnesses,  in  perfection,  this 
marvelous  manifestation.  *  Katie'  stood  on  the  very 
threshold  of  the  cabinet,  directly  in  front  of  me,  and 
scarcely  nine  feet  distant.  I  saw  her,  with  absolute 
distinctness,  from  head  to  foot,  during  all  the  time  she 
gradually  faded  out  and  re-appeared.  The  head  disap- 
peared a  little  before  the  rest  of  her  form,  and  the  feet 
and  lower  part  of  the  drapery  remained  visible  after  the 
body  and  the  cross  she  wore  had  vanished.  But  the 
lily  was  to  be  seen,  suspended  in  the  air,  several  seconds 
after  the  hand  which  held  it  was  gone ;  then  it  vanished, 
last  of  all.  When  the  figure  re-appeared,  that  lily 
showed  itself  in  advance  of  all  else,  at  first  like  a  bright 
crystal,  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  floor ;  but  grad- 
ually rising  and  assuming  the  lily  shape  as  the  hand 
which  held  it,  and  the  form  to  which  that  hand  belonged, 
first  shimmered  and  then  brightened  into  view.  In  less 
than  a  minute  after  the  re-appearance  commenced, 
Katie  issued  from  the  cabinet  in  full  beauty,  bearing  the 
lily  in  her  right  hand,  with  the  cross  on  her  bosom,  and 
arrayed  in  the  self-same  costume  previously  worn ;  then, 
coming  toward  us,  she  saluted  the  circle  with  all  her 
wonted  grace.  I  am  not  sure  whether  we  have  on 
record,  any  account  of  the  vanishing  and  re- appearance, 

25 


CSG  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

in  the  light,  of  physical  objects ;  at  least  any  example 
where  it  was  observed  so  closely  and  in  such  perfection 
as  this.  During  the  sitting  of  July  10,  '  Katie '  allowed 
us  again  to  witness  this  phenomenon ;  and,  on  that  oc- 
casion, a  bouquet  which  she  held  in  her  hand  vanished 
and  re-appeared,  as  the  lily  and  the  cross  had  done. " 

Another  feature  of  a  no  less  interesting  character  was 
seen  in  a  subsequent  sitting,  and  related  by  Mr.  0.  as 
follows :  "  During  this  and  the  sitting  of  June  12,  the 
re-appearance  seemed  to  be  effected  in  a  somewhat  mod- 
ified way.  The  form  came  into  view  first  as  a  sort 
of  dwarfed  or  condensed  Katie,  not  over  eighteen  inches 
high ;  then  the  figure  appeared  to  be  elongated,  almost 
as  a  pocket  telescope  is  drawn  to  its  full  length,  till  the 
veritable  Katie,  not  a  fold  of  her  shining  raiment  dis- 
arranged, stood  in  full  stature  before  us.  *  *  * 
Another  phenomenon,  that  of  levitation,  which  we  wit- 
nessed during  the  sitting  of  July  12,  and  on  four  or  five 
other  occasions,  recalled  some  of  the  old  paintings  of  the 
transfiguration.  Within  the  cabinet,  but  in  full  view, 
we  saw  Katie's  entire  form — her  graceful  garments  lit- 
erally *  white  as  the  light ' — suspended  in  mid-air.  I  ob- 
served that  she  gently  moved  hands  and  feet,  as  a 
swimmer,  upright  in  the  water,  might.  She  remained 
thus,  each  time,  from  ten  to  fifteen  seconds." 

These  delectable  pictures,  by  mere  sensuous  evidence 
of  spirit  intercourse  unsurpassed,  were,  no  doubt,  of 
exquisite  enjoyment ;  and  would  have  been  so,  to  many, 
though  known  to  be  delusions.  After  having  written 
the  article  and  forwarded  it,  Mr.  Owen  was  made  ac- 


CLAIMS  OF  INTERCOURSE.  387 

quainted  with  the  fact  of  a  fraud  being  at  the  bottom 
of  the  performances,  fully  confessed ;  when,  with  proper 
integrity,  he  telegraphed  the  publishers  to  withhold  it, 
and,  being  too  late,  sent  a  counter-statement  to  the 
public  through  the  dailies. 

If  the  delusions  were  most  remarkable,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  the  conditions,  too,  were  extraordina- 
rily favorable.  Much  of  this  time  spent  away  from  the 
common  aspect  of  the  world,  with  their  continuously, 
for  weeks,  drifting  more  and  more  intimately  into  one 
idea,  and  expectant  of  the  same  general  class  of  ob- 
jective appearances,  and  in  view  of  what  is  possible  and 
more  or  less  at  all  times  transpiring,  it  is  not  at  all 
surprising  that  these  should  have  been  subjectively 
impressed  with  the  same  images — should  have  seen 
the  same  "Katie,"  the  same  flowers,  draperies  and 
movements — heard  the  same  voice  and  words,  etc.,  etc. ; 
as  the  Londoners  saw  the  same  distressed  monkey ;  the 
Florentines,  the  same  mid-heaven  soaring  angel;  and 
the  soldiers,  the  same  spectral  dog. 

EVIL    SPIEITS,    ETC. 

But  these  phenomena,  however,  derived  from  the 
same  principle,  are  to  be  regarded  as  wholly  different 
from  that  of  inspiration  or  of  mental  intercourse ;  from 
the  fact  that  their  conditions  place  them  beyond  the 
direct  control  of  the  will.  And  it  may  here  be  added 
that  to  influences  of  this  character — involuntary  and 
unconscious  emanations  of  mind,  more  or  less  necessary 
to  all  its  activities,  indifferently  drifting  off  upon  this 


388  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

adjacent  mental  atmosphere,  and  becoming  lodged  upon 
a  mind  with  a  physical  organism,  with  the  liability  of 
being  unadapted  thereto,  and  thus  being  transformed  in 
ihe  organism  into  vicious  insanities — might  at  times  be 
due  those  peculiar  disturbances  that  apparently  imply 
the  presence  of  an  external  vicious  spirit,  as  demoniacal 
possession,  and  witchcrafts,  of  the  past,  and  the  pos- 
session of  mediums  by  low  spirits — as  is  often  alleged — 
in  our  day ; — there  being  at  the  same  time,  no  external 
spirit  directly  concerned,  while,  too,  the  mind  from 
whom  the  influence  unconsciously  drifted  away,  might 
be  immaculately  pure.  But  the  principles  of  ordinary  in- 
sanity sufficiently  cover  all  such  cases,  without  refer- 
ence to  agencies  from  another  sphere. 

TRANCE    MEDIUMS. 

And  here,  before  closing  under  this  head,  a  word  at 
least  requires  to  be  said  in  respect  to  the  claims  of  in- 
tercourse through  trance- speaking  mediums ;  though  the 
trance  medium  and  the  somnambulist  so  commonly  rep- 
resent the  same  class  of  phenomena,  as  to  rarely,  if 
ever,  require  separate  classification.  That  thoughts 
from  the  other  world  to  this,  may  sometimes  find  favor- 
able conditions  of  this  character,  is,  of  course,  possible. 
But  the  occasional  brilliancies  displayed,  that  render  the 
claim  that  these  are  influenced  from  the  other  world, 
plausible  with  some,  are  not  worthy  of  reliance. 

So  far  as  I  have  seen,  thought  produced  in  that  state 
is  so  aimless  and  little  connected  as  to  indicate  epileptic 
brain  actions.     But,  aside  from  the  notoriety,  little  im- 


CLAIMS  OF  INTEECOURSE,  389 

portance  can  be  attached  to  such  operations  at  best. 
The  productions  generally  might  well  be  inferior  to 
those  of  their  own  sober  efforts. 

We  have,  however,  seen  that  minds  from  the  other 
world  sustain  such  relation  to  those  of  this,  that,  with 
the  average,  as  they  live  and  die,  there  are  conditions, 
though  seldom,  where  tangible  intercourse  would  be 
possible  and  to  be  expected ;  and  it  may  mingle  with  the 
class  of  phenomena  we  have  just  been  considering.  In- 
numerable diamonds,  in  dimensions  of  dust,  may  be 
scattered  throughout  all  the  sand-fields  of  the  globe ; 
but  of  Kohinoors,  the  world  exhumed,  might  not  sup- 
ply a  dozen. 

Profane  history  is  not  without  instances,  unavoidably 
told,  of  definite  mental  presentiments  and  counsels,  of 
great  interest,  that  to  mere  human  means  of  discern- 
ment were  quite  impossible.  The  career  of  Joan  of 
Arc,  with  the  divinations  of  coming  events  in  her  mili- 
tary career  against  the  English  in  France,  her  being 
directed  by  "  voices  "  from  minds  of  superior  military 
ability,  that  she  came  to  the  field  of  war  an  unlettered 
peasant  girl  from  the  wild  interior,  are  as  truly  matters 
of  history  as  are  the  campaigns  of  Napoleon. 

SPIRIT   INTERCOURSE    AS    PERTAINING   TO    THE    BIBLE. 

In  these  manifestations,  as  they  occur  in  the  common 
course  of  human  events,  there  is  noticeably  little 
unity  of  conception  or  of  motive, — no  general  policy  nor 
plan,  nor  common  objective  end.  They  mainly  pertain 
to  local  and  individual  affairs  and  are  of  a  temporal 


390  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

character,  and  not,  therefore,  attributable  to  any 
forecasting,  general  order  of  management,  nor  to  any 
highly  attained  individual  mind.  The  opposite  of  this 
is  manifest  in  that  which  pertains  to  the  Biblical  record. 
Over  those  thousands  of  years  the  prophecies  and 
teachings  from  this  source,  have  maintained  the  most 
inflexible  adherence  to  the  same  theology,  anthropology, 
and  ethics,  the  same  motive  and  objective  end.  On  those 
ever  changeful  human  nature  could  make  no  impression. 
The  last  and  the  first  of  this  long  line  of  prophets, 
seers  and  apostles,  were  in  essentials  in  strict  accord  as 
to  their  teaching  and  manner  of  life.  To  maintain  this 
unity  through  all  these  ages,  against  continuous  circum- 
stances so  strongly  hostile,  and  when  the  best  human 
elements  of  the  times  were  mentally  and  morally  so 
unequal  to  their  appreciation,  required  an  immense 
mental  force  of  high  order,  to  be  continually  applied. 
Besides,  the  principles  which  they  taught  and  the  spirit 
that  mainly  characterized  those  recognized  on  this  roll, 
were  such  as  are  at  this  greatly  advanced  day,  by  our 
best  mmds,  being  pronounced  unsurpassed. 

Such,  then,  is  plainly  a  phenomenon,  and  due  to  a 
corresponding  cause — an  agency  of  unlimited  suprem- 
acy over  both  man  and  his  environments,  actuated  by  a 
vast  motive  of  beneficence  to  the  race ;  from  earliest 
times  maintaining  a  moral  light  and  life-giving  princi- 
ple in  the  world  that  should  unfold  the  civilization  that 
now  is  and  that  which  is  to  come.  And  that  the  means 
of  intercourse,  found  in  readiness  existing  in  the  nature 
of  things,  as  we  have  seen,  when  they  were  or  could  be 


CLAIMS   OF  INTERCOURSE.  891 

made  sufl&cient  therefor,  should  have  been  employed  in 
all  this,  were  more  reasonable  than  to  suppose  special 
ones  needlessly  to  have  been  extemporized.  Hence,  that 
indications  of  epilepsy,  catalepsy,  trance,  etc.,  should 
be  discovered  to  have  characterized  the  deportment  of 
even  the  most  celebrated  of  these  in  their  times  of 
prophesying,  etc.,  as  scientific  writers  have  claimed, 
were  properly  to  be  expected ;  and  could  detract  noth- 
ing from  the  highest  estimate  placed  upon  their  mission. 
Also,  that  certain  alleged  necromancies  and  divinations, 
then  widely  prevalent,  were  strictly  forbidden  by  these, 
when  they  themselves  held  intercourse  with  angels,  is 
no  evidence  of  a  purpose  to  monopolize  the  intercourse 
between  the  two  worlds,  but  of  the  false  character  of 
these  pretensions,  and  their  tendency  to  evil  in  com- 
munity. 

And,  lastly,  there  is  really  no  call  for  belief  that  any 
of  the  angelic  visitations  recorded  in  the  Bible,  were  in 
character  such  as  not  to  come  under  the  law  that  per- 
sonal appearances  or  other  demonstrations  of  spirit 
presence,  are  alone  by  mental  impressions  from  that 
world,  fixed  upon  the  minds  or  physical  substances  of 
this  world.  However  striking  and  real  their  appear- 
ance among  men  in  the  flesh,  they  could  not  have  per- 
sonally disappeared  from  their  own  world  to  which, 
necessarily,  they  are  allied  by  senses  as  we  are  to  this. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

Approximate  Analysis  of  Keal  Life  in  the  Land  Im- 
mortal.— Changes  that  are  Possible;  that  are 
Probable;  that  are  Improbable;  that  are  Impossi- 
ble.— Bodily  State  and  Advantages. — Death  and 
"  Old  Age  "  Abolished. — Palpable  Surroundings. — 
Eecognitions,  Eeunions  and  Companionships. — Edu- 
cation AND  Worship. 

AS  to  the  first  meaning  of  that  wonderful  word^ 
"  Self  " — of  the  conditions,  and  their  philosophy, 
that  underlie  and  form  into  "  Self, "  our  ignorance,  with- 
out the  trace  of  a  hope,  must  be  as  enduring  as  our  ex- 
istence. But  happily  after  its  institution,  the  laws  that 
determine  its  qualities,  necessities,  possibilities  and  des- 
tinies, are  as  securely  in  hand  as  is  the  simplest  princi- 
ple in  nature ;  and  what  parts  of  them  our  understanding 
has  not  yet  fully  traced,  are,  with  a  fixed  certainty,  of 
the  ever  interesting  order  of  "  the  knowable  unknown, " 

In  respect  to  the  aspects  of  life  in  the  coming  exist- 
ence, many  of  the  details  must  remain  unknown  till 
those  sceneries  shall  directly  fall  upon  us  through  the 
new  organs  for  our  senses,  which,  taking  the  place  of 
these  now  relating  us  with  this  existence,  shall  locate  us 
in  that.     It  must,  also,  be  considered  that  on  arriving 

392 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  393 

there,  all  may  realize,  perhaps,  prominent  expectations 
unfulfilled. 

CHANGES    THAT   ARE    POSSIBLE. 

As  to  changes  that  are  possible  in  the  next  world, 
considered  with  respect  to  this,  the  general  fact  that 
has  already  been  referred  to,  may  be  noted,  that  in 
the  higher  order  of  substance,  passive  elements  may  well 
reveal  themselves  in  a  greater  variety  of  characters  and 
uses.  In  this  fact,  mainly  or  alone,  could  we  look  for 
changes  or  the  cause  of  changes  that  are  not  to  be  an- 
ticipated and  defined  from  this  state.  And  these,  in 
class,  can  only  be  few,  and  without  influence  upon  the 
radical  nature  of  life  itself.  They  are  only  of  environment, 
over  which  life's  own  conservative  laws  are,  throughout, 
finally  supreme.  The  forces  of  those  superior  passive 
elements  or  environments  might,  if  essentially  the  same, 
be  still  differently  balanced,  and  correspondingly  affect 
the  mode  and  the  aspect  of  their  existence.  For  ex- 
ample, the  densities  and  gravities  might,  by  that  means, 
vary  from  those  of  ours.  And  how  soon  a  not  very 
great  change  in  respect  to  these  in  ours,  might  cause  a 
material  shifting  in  the  modes  of  existence  here  below. 
Our  mineral  environment  of  the  present  state  is  as  it  is 
by  the  mere  fact  that  the  invested  forces  are,  in  just 
this  way,  balancing  each  other.  The  major  part  of  it 
(so  far  at  least  as  our  world  is  concerned)  is  sufficiently 
dense  to  be  relatively  fixed  and  firm,  of  which  forms 
derived  from  it  are  to  quite  an  extent  stable  and  con- 
tinuous ;  which  is  a  matter  quite  essential  to  the  devel- 


394  CONSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 

opment  of  individual  being;  mentally  as  well  as  bodily. 
But  much  of  it,  too,  is  fluid ;  and  much  is  volitant,  to 
an  unlimited  extent.  One  part  of  these  is  rolling  in  the 
external  cavities  of  the  earth,  too  heavy  and  fixed  to  rise ; 
another  is  drifting  in  the  form  of  clouds,  resting  on  the 
bosoms  of  atmospheric  strata — mountain  ranges,  in  a 
state  of  nebulae.  Other  forms  are  constituting  the  at- 
mosphere, with  its  burden  of  impalpable  dusts  and 
gases,  extending  over  all  one  continuous  envelope,  and 
reaching  out  into  the  inaccessible  ethers  above. 

With  a  not  very  great  change  of  temperature  modify- 
ing their  forces,  in  some  of  these  substances  the  change 
would  be  quite  important.  Let  it  be  the  water  for  ex- 
ample: and  a  not  very  great  increase  of  the  general 
heat  would  transform  all  the  oceans  into  vapor ;  or  if 
it  were  a  decrease,  they  would  be  beds  of  ice-rock. 
Should,  by  some  circumstance,  the  same  relaxation  to 
the  forces  of  this  element  take  place  without  the  agency 
of  heat,  rendering  essentially  the  same  results,  and,  to 
many  classes  of  animals,  life  would  become  impossible 
or  their  modes  of  being  would  be  greatly  changed,  with 
transformations  of  their  organisms.  But  suppose,  on 
the  same  principle,  that  some  fact  of  nature  should 
transpire  by  which  the  gravity  of  atmospheric  air  would 
be  increased  to  nearly  equal  that  of  water,  what  un- 
thought-of  changes  might  not  then  take  place  in  the 
matter  of  locomotion ;  seemingly,  without  much  incon- 
veniencing any  of  the  orders  of  life  now  existing? 
Water-breathing  and  air-breathing  animals  would,  gen- 
erally, be  restricted  to  their  several  elements  only  so  far 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  395 

as  would  be  necessary  for  nourishment,  or  to  suit  the 
sense  of  congeniality.  Man,  himself,  with  little  more 
effort  than  is  required  for  his  ascending  the  water, 
could,  also,  ascend  the  air. 

While  we  can  well  see  how  in  our  world  such  an  ar- 
rangement would  be  greatly  inferior  to  the  one  existing, 
— that  much  greater  would  be  the  impurities  of  the  at- 
mosphere, and  that  less  of  inspiring  beauties  would  be 
possible,  we  may  safely  judge  that  in  a  higher  order  of 
substance,  through  a  more  perfect  adjustment  of  ele- 
ments in  normal  relation  with  each  other,  the  tendency 
would  be  to  increase  fixedness  and  to  render  the  separa- 
tion of  extremes  more  wide  and  complete.  Hence,  there 
would  be  less  antagonism  and  more  reciprocity  in  the 
forces.  And  hence,  with  all  the  elements  in  greater  purity 
and  completeness  of  adjustment,  there,  also,  would  be 
a  greater  stability  of  their  modes  and  greater  freedom, 
by  which  they  would  be  more  available  to  the  vital 
agents,  and  be  subject  to  greater  variety  of  arrange- 
ment of  whatever  character. 

In  these,  then,  we  see  indicated,  though  not  specif- 
ically defined,  not  alone  changes  that  are  possible,  but 
that  are,  also,  probable.  That  is,  in  the  very  nature  of 
these  facts,  as  to  substance,  it  becomes  quite  necessary  to 
foresee  modifications  in  the  future  body  of  nature,  harmon- 
izing with  those  provisions.  And  added  to  this,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  must  follow  the  consideration  that  the  en- 
vironment will  carry  its  peculiarities  into  the  appoint- 
ments of  the  future  body  for  man.  Considering,  again, 
for  a  moment,  as  to  how  the  embodiment  of  self  is 


396  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

effected  here,  we  see  that,  first  and  last,  it  is  achieved 
by  assimilating  forces  working  involuntarily  and  in- 
sensibly upon  surrounding  material  substances,  bringing 
them  into  the  required  combination.  Eeference  to  those 
forces,  by  way  of  consciousness,  is  had  alone  by  the 
sense  of  hunger  excited  along  the  preliminary  passages 
of  food,  calling  for  the  substances  they  require.  This 
hunger  to  appease,  we  place  the  desired  aliment  into  the 
passages,  out  of  which  it  is  taken  and  placed  in  position. 
Now,  the  assimilation  of  substances  into  requisite 
bodily  form,  is  in  any  state  unavoidable.  But  the  same 
mode  of  access  to  the  required  substances  may  not  be 
always  necessary.  Artificial  arrangements  for  its  pro- 
curing may  not  always  be  required.  And  the  breaking 
of  bulk  by  an  internal  chemistry  is  in  some  conceiva- 
ble cases  unnecessary.  Water  and  salt,  though  of  em- 
inent service  to  the  economy,  undergo  no  digestion,  but 
pass  in  required  measures  directly  on  to  their  destinations. 
Oxygen,  in  large  quantities,  is  partaken  of  independently 
of  the  alimentary  system,  by  the  great  endosmotic  filter 
of  the  lungs,  and  by  the  same  organ,  exosmotically,  is  its 
effete  product  eliminated.  And  at  times  when  the 
stomach  is  insufficient  for  its  function,  oleaginous  food, 
in  considerable  amounts,  is  taken  through  the  skin,  by 
its  being  externally  laid  on ;  and  through  that  organ  in 
return,  is  much  of  the  worn-out  material  cast  away. 

Apparently,  then,  it  is  from  the  low  and  unrefined  or- 
der of  the  environing  substance,  that  the  spacious  in- 
ternal organs  for  receiving  and  dissolving  massive  ag- 
gregates, are  called  for,  in  our  present  embodiments. 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  397 

Then,  in  so  far  as  this,  and  in  whatever  is  dependent 
thereon,  change  is  probable  in  the  appointments  of  the 
future  body.  And  however  there  may  be,  in  respect  to 
minor  matters,  other  changes  in  it,  in  no  other  respect 
is  there  any  so  probable  as  in  that  which  concerns  the 
means  of  subsisting  it  from  its  surrounding  elements. 

The  same  principle,  too,  might  be  expected  to  apply 
to  individuals  of  lower  forms  of  life,  should  they  appear. 
This  is  rendered  probable  from  the  necessity  of  the  ex- 
istence of  more  direct  and  immediate  adjustment,  and 
the  more  ready  subservience  to  adjacent  higher  forces 
on  the  part  of  elements  of  a  higher  order ;  as  is  fore- 
seen of  the  elements  of  our  present  surrounding,  when 
they  shall  be  more  advanced  on  the  route  to  that  ulti- 
mate harmony  of  their  primal  parts,  toward  which  all 
their  unceasing  movements  under  our  eyes  are  tending 
to  finally  bring  them.  Then,  too,  from  this  it  would 
seem  probable  that  bodily  subsistence  might  be  more  by 
involuntary  processes,  and  of  less  tax  on  time  and  the 
mental  energies. 

But,  let  the  changes  in  the  new  condition  be  these  or 
any  others  which  this  line  of  facts  might  legitimately 
suggest,  there  need  be  no  regrets  in  their  anticipation. 
In  neither  of  the  changes  that  our  bodies  have  under- 
gone in  the  natural  way  from  childhood  up,  though 
quite  numerous,  has  our  estate  of  happiness  suffered 
depreciation.  From  them  has  come  no  inconvenience, 
unless  it  has  been  from  their  worn-out  condition  in  old 
age.  In  early  infancy  the  thymus  gland  is  a  large,  active 
and  highly  necessary  organ,  which  with  age  wholly  dis- 


398  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

appears,  as  the  need  of  it  is  discontinued  by  the  arrival 
of  new  conditions.  But  in  parting  with  the  old  and  en- 
tering upon  the  new  form  of  organism,  nothing  is  seen 
to  indicate  any  change  in  the  sense  of  sameness  in -self 
or  in  the  tenor  of  enjoyments. 

CHANGES    THAT    ARE    IMPROBABLE. 

Under  this  head  a  few  general  facts  will  cover  all  that 
it  will  be  of  importance  to  refer  to.  It  will  be  improb- 
able that  that  existence  will  be  changed  from  an  es- 
sentially cosmical  or  world-like  character  and  aspect. 
However  widely  sundered  one  order  of  substance  may 
lie  from  another,  from  the  requirements  of  its  being, 
certain  facts  found  in  one  must  exist  in  respect  to  the 
other.  To  its  parts  there  must  be  an  underlying  same- 
ness, co-equality,  and  adherence,  in  order  to  have  ex- 
pression at  the  same  plane  of  being.  These  facts  in 
passive  substance, — substance,  which,  for  its  special 
placement  or  direction,  depends  on  the  impingements  of 
vitality  in  some  form — ^will,  necessarily,  establish  its  ex- 
tension in  space,  not  alone,  but  also  its  gravitation, 
with  oscillations  occasioned  by  the  diversity  of  the  special 
elemental  qualities  or  parts,  comprehended  by  this  un- 
derlying sameness.  Then,  densities,  fixities,  shapes 
and  all  the  essential  properties  and  habits  of  substances, 
seen  in  our  world  and  determined  by  the  same  basic 
facts,  are  belonging  to  the  next  existence,  also, — if  pas- 
sive substance  of  any  form  shall  have  representation 
there;  which  the  presence  of  the  ever-continuing  ra- 
tional mind,  requiring  this  aspect  of   being  for  food, 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND   IMMORTAL.  399 

seemingly  makes  a  necessity.  As  these  are  mental  re- 
quirements, it  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that 
substance  of  this  character  should  be  discontinued  from 
the  mind  in  all  its  unending  future.  That  we  should, 
then,  at  any  time  in  all  our  unending  career  in  a  spirit- 
ual existence,  find  our  surroundings  to  impress  us  as 
materially  unlike  a  body  of  nature — a  world — a  uni- 
verse of  worlds,  is  to  be  set  down  as  highly  improbable. 
Besides,  considerations  of  number,  figure,  relatively, 
etc.,  are  inseparable  from  all  forms  of  thought  or  men- 
tal procedure.  And  these  can  find  no  prompting  ex- 
pressions in  a  nature  outside  of  the  mind,  but  in 
substance  of  this  character.  Hence,  the  ever  growing 
mind  may  never  lay  this  book  of  nature  aside. 

We  now  come  from  this  to  the  next  general  fact  in 
order  in  considering  the  improbable  in  place  of  the  prob- 
able: Again  that  of  our  embodiment  in  that  world. 
A  probable  modification  has  been  arrived  at.  But  an 
essential  unlikeness  in  form  and  feature  the  facts  im- 
port as  improbable.  For  substantial  reasons,  the  or- 
ganism as  to  form,  uses,  and  aspect,  cannot  be  expected 
to  differ  very  essentially  from  that  of  this  world,  when 
here  it  is  in  its  complete  and  normal  state.  Self  is  con- 
stituted in  definitely  characterized  forces  determining 
the  type  of  being,  which  can  be  no  less  fixed  and  en- 
during in  the  character  of  their  arrangement,  than  is 
the  being  itself.  These  forces,  too,  necessarily  give 
character  to  form  in  harmony  with  that  arrangement. 
And  this  type,  as  has  been  seen,  is  prior  to  the  embodi- 


400  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

ment.  It  shapes  the  external  body  on  the  internal 
pattern. 

In  the  lower  forms  of  substance  these  forces  are  nec- 
essarily more  hampered,  and,  in  their  results,  more  de- 
fective,— deviating  into  physical  excesses  in  some  parts 
and  into  deficiencies  in  others, — possibly  into  "  mimic  " 
developments  in  some  instances,  and  in  others  where  the 
circumstances  call  for  such,  into  the  formation  of  tem- 
porary organs.  But  as  is  seen  of  the  vegetable,  that 
the  embodiment  is  more  perfect  where  the  conditions 
for  its  proper  development  are  more  fully  present, 
what  change  of  our  bodily  form  would  be  occasioned 
by  the  presence  of  a  higher  order  of  elements,  could 
only  be  to  that  which  would  be  more  pleasing — to  more 
symmetry  and  harmony. 

And  still  further,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  existing 
functions  of  the  several  senses  will  depend  on  embodi- 
ment in  proper  organs,  to  bring  them  into  correspond- 
ence with  that  future  body  of  nature, — that  these  must 
be  from  the  elements  of  that  nature  itself,  of  which  the 
similarity  of  properties  might  well  render  those  organs 
faithful  reminders  of  their  earthly  predecessors.  Em- 
bodiment is,  hence,  not  only  a  necessity,  but  at  least  a 
close,  recognizable  resemblance  is  equally  a  necessity. 
And  among  the  improbabilities,  in  respect  to  that  state, 
will  be  the  loss  of  the  bodily  means  of  recognizing  those 
previously  known.  In  corroboration  of  this,  we  may 
further  note  that  in  the  properties  so  determined  upon 
in  respect  to  that  inner  body  of  nature,  are  provided 
all  the  conditions  that  are  known  to  us  as  necessary  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOBTAL.  401 

sound,  light,  and  heat — temperature.  Then  organs  of 
vision  and  of  hearing,  as  well  as  the  organic  arrange- 
ment for  general  sensibility,  are  called  for, — to  which 
we  may  safely  add  the  remainder  of  the  list  of  the 
sense  arrangements  pertaining  to  our  present  existence, 
as  they,  also,  refer  to  material  conditions  embraced  in 
the  generalizations  named. 

As  truly  as  the  lobster  puts  forth  a  new  claw  in  place 
of  the  one  removed,  the  dog  would  replace  the  missing 
foot  on  the  airy  part  at  which  he  vainly  licks,  and  the 
man  would  replace  with  a  new  one,  the  amputated  arm, 
removed  from  the  one  he  still  feels  is  there,  if  these 
were  as  closely  related  with  this  order  of  passive  sub- 
stance as  is  the  lobster.  That  not  being  the  case, 
which  can  be  the  only  reason,  the  forces  of  these  sensa- 
tions of  the  limbs  still  existing,  subjective  though  they 
may  be,  as  claimed  by  some,  might  well  be  expected  to 
find  the  processes  of  reclothing  themselves  available  in 
a  higher  order  of  substance. 

CHANGES    THAT    ARE    IMPOSSIBLE. 

These,  likewise,  for  the  present,  it  will  be  sufficient  to 
refer  to  in  but  a  few  particulars.  It  may  well  be  be- 
lieved that  while  passive  substance  is  all  the  time  shift- 
ing into  new  relations,  change  in  the  nature  of  the  ele- 
ments themselves  is  a  permanent  impossibility.  And 
all  existences  that  are  continued  into  the  next  state,  if 
they  are  favored  with  the  same  liberty,  wiU  acquit  them- 
selves of  the  same  deportment.  When,  therefore,  we 
have  seen  the  rational  mind  in  one  world,  we  have  seen 
it  for  all  worlds  wherein  the  liberty  is  the  same. 


402  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

In  the  world  of  most  restraint  we  must  see  it  in  less 
of  itself ;  while  still  by  its  shifting  therein  from  one  con- 
dition to  another,  it  fails  not  to  display  its  nature  suffi- 
ciently well  to  be  safely  judged  of  in  respect  to  its 
endowments,  and  its  character  and  aspect  when  existing 
at  its  best,  and  which  must  be  its  final  attainment. 

Speaking  of  the  rational  mind,  necessarily  includes 
all  its  co-attributes  of  sentiment — the  various  affectibns, 
and  the  moral,  reverential,  and  religious  senses,  which 
are  found  with  that  order  of  mind  alone.  And  in  the 
existence  of  these,  as  of  mind,  must  be  included  their 
requirements  and  the  essential  modes  of  their  gratifica- 
tion and  enlargement.  So  that  likewise  when  we  see 
man  with  these  in  one  world  we  see  him  so  in  all  worlds 
wherein  his  nature  has  equal  freedom. 

In  short,  then,  that  man  should  appear  in  the  next 
world,  the  embodiment  of  a  nature  that  is  not  that  of  his 
present,  with  the  sentiments  and  tendencies  not  the 
same,  so  far  as  the  conditions  might  be  the  same,  is, 
from  a  human  standpoint  of  view,  impossible.  Should 
the  conditions  of  that  world  be  more  favorable  to  his 
nature  than  are  the  present,  then,  too,  would  his  best 
estate  in  this,  the  most  completely  represent  his  state 
in  the  next,  and  the  dispositions  and  demeanors  of  life 
at  its  best  in  this  world,  would  be  the  most  perfect  ex- 
hibition to  be  seen  on  earth,  of  what  is  his  real  life  in 
the  Land  Immortal. 

That  the  conditions  of  the  next  world  are  in  advance 
of  those  pertaining  to  this,  need  not  here  be  re-argued. 
That  it  lies  in  advance  on  the  line  of  our  progress — our 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  403 

mental  and  all  sentient  enlargement — and  is  placed  to 
meet  the  needs  of  our  coming  growth,  is  sufficient.  The 
thinking  mind  recognizes  no  requirement  of  proof  more 
conclusive.  Hence,  the  first  general  fact  that  strikes 
the  realizing  sense  is  that  in  all  respects  life  is  by  the 
change  raised  to  greater  advantages  and  will  display 
more  of  its  real  self.  So,  then,  in  proceeding  to  give 
an  approximate  view  of  life  beyond  the  tomb,  we  have 
to  proceed  to  answer  the  question  as  to  what  might  be 
the  indication  of  life  at  its  best.  The  extreme  classes  of 
mankind  point  oppositely.  The  low  barbarian  regards 
his  the  favored  class  and  state,  and  points  with  deep 
disdain  to  the  civilized  state  of  life,  as  one  of  wide  de- 
parture from  the  simple  and  the  true,  while  his  more 
enlightened  brother  is  deploring  that  state,  and  striving 
to  raise  him  to  his  own.  Generally  there  is  an  agree- 
ment of  the  civilized  or  partially  civilized,  that  what  is 
comporting  with  the  Christianity  of  the  gospel,  is  life  at 
its  best.  At  any  rate,  that  which  would  be  the  most  in- 
telligent, just,  benevolent,  and  refined  would  be  regarded 
as  such.  If  leaving  unconsidered  the  adaptations  to  the 
spiritual,  these  would  be  agreed  upon  by  less  believing 
men  of  science,  as  life  at  its  best. 

But  all  nature  sets  forth  that  growth  of  all  the  con- 
stituent parts,  in  harmony,  is  necessary  to  attainment 
toward  the  perfected — the  uppermost  state.  The  un- 
grown  plant  is  by  none  regarded  at  its  best.  Neither 
when  growth  has  been  confined  to  but  a  part  of  its 
structure,  leaving  others  unmatured.  To  this  principle, 
all  must  agree  that  man  is  no  exception.     But  to  this 


404  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE.. 

there  is  still  another  criterion  to  be  added,  which  may  be, 
besides,  a  help  in  determining  when  all  of  man  is  in- 
cluded in  the  growth — the  enlargement. 

Measures  of  force  are  to  be  consulted.  With  the  most 
attainment,  in  whatever  department  of  being,  resides 
the  most  power, — ^from  it  proceeds  the  greater — the 
most  overmastering — influence  over  the  elements  of  its 
kind.  From  the  less,  in  the  given  time,  only  less  could 
proceed.  Then  in  tracing  the  forces  that  have  influ- 
enced, not  the  greatest  number  of  individuals,  but  the 
greatest  aggregate  of  mind,  the  clue  will  lead,  neces- 
sarily, to  the  minds  or  mind  of  the  greatest  attainment. 
In  our  age  the  aggregate  of  mind  is  immense  over  all 
other  ages ;  and  its  special  development,  and  where  it 
rises  above  all  contrast  with  the  remainder  of  the 
world,  and  completely  overpowers  it,  is  abruptly  lim- 
ited with  the  communities  where  the  popular  mind  is 
brought  most  directly  facing  the  open  gospels, — ^where, 
by  the  minds  holding  chief  control  over  the  great  mass, 
an  almost  universal  deference  is  shown  to  the  central 
character  in  those  gospels.  The  control  seen  in  this 
deference  has  not  been  attained,  and  is  not  continued 
without  force  of  the  requisite  nature.  If  the  force  con- 
sists in  purely  ideas,  then,  as  we  know,  ideas  through- 
out have  not  the  same  measure  of  force ;  and  the  differ- 
ence must  be  founded  on  a  corresponding  difference  in 
the  measures  of  power  possessed  by  the  minds  issuing 
them ;  which  would  determine  the  most  attained  mind 
to  be  that  of  Jesus  in  the  gospels.  But  deference  is 
equally  if  not  more  to  the  life,  than  ideas  of  Jesus. 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  405 

Then,  again,  the  effect  of  this  life  is  achieved  by  force 
of  a  requisite  nature ;  and  that  from  other  lives  equal 
effects  are  not  following,  is  only  from  the  fact  that  in 
measures  of  this  force  they  are  not  his  equals;  and 
that,  in  attainment,  the  life  of  Jesus  is  in  the  same 
measure  transcendent  over  theirs.  He  may  be  regarded 
as  merely  human  or  as  superhuman,  it  is  the  same,  so 
far  as  this  law  is  concerned. 

Next  in  reigning  influence  over  the  same  lives,  have 
been  and  are  his  immediate  disciples — the  Apostles — 
who  are  deferred  to  next  to  him.  And  always,  circum- 
stances being  equal,  the  one  who  is  the  most  nearly  the 
Jesus  type  of  life,  is  the  one  having  the  largest  influ- 
ence on  the  body  of  mankind.  But  so  commonly  are 
the  operations  of  this  force  beneath  the  face  of  affairs, 
that,  by  the  common  mind,  its  magnitude  is  not  seen. 
It  is,  however,  ascertained,  and,  by  the  duly  reflective, 
may  not  be  doubted.  What  the  influence  of  a  super- 
ficial storm  is  to  that  of  an  ocean- deep  tidal  wave,  is 
that  of  Caesar  to  that  of  Paul,  on  the  human  world. 
And,  always,  influence  is  force,  derived  from  adequate 
sources.  The  disparity  of  their  effects  but  denotes  the 
disparity  of  the  attainments  of  these  two  great  lives  of 
history. 

Then  it  were  necessary  to  conclude  that  what  Jesus 
and  Paul  in  theory  and  life  recognized  as  parts  of 
the  nature  of  self,  requiring  equal  culture  to  bring  man 
to  his  best,  is  of  higher  authority  than  would  be  the 
claims  from  lives  of  less  attainment ;  and  that  worship- 
ing and  supplicating  the  Supreme  Being  is  based  on  a 


406  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

part  of  our  nature,  and  requires  practice  and  culture  as 
much  as  does  the  element  of  ethics  or  esthetics,  or  pure  in- 
tellect. And  now  it  being  understood  what  are  the  elements 
in  attainment  in  life  at  its  best  in  this  state,  we  have  an 
outline  view  of  the  workings  of  life  in  the  next, — upon 
what  tendencies  it  is  employed,  seeking  their  fulfillment. 

THE  BODILY  STATE. DEATH  ABOLISHED. 

But  before  entering  upon  any  details,  some  further 
reflections  upon  the  personal  state  seem  in  place.  Con- 
siderable has  already  been  said  concerning  the  embodi- 
ment, without  referring  to  certain  facts  that  bear  upon 
its  continuance — whether  it  is  indefinite,  or  eternal,  or 
terminates  within  a  quite  uniform  limit  of  time,  as  ia 
the  case  with  our  present  bodies.  What  can  have  any 
bearing  upon  that  with  any  certainty,  is  what  may  be 
derived  from  the  facts  of  life  itself,  together  with  the 
conclusions  that  have  been  arrived  at  in  respect  to  the 
cosmical  substance  of  that  state,  and  what  are  the  facts 
concerning  death  in  this  existence.  In  brief,  the  sepa- 
ration from  the  body  in  this  world,  as  generally  under- 
stood, takes  place  by  some  disqualifying  changes  in  the 
bodily  substances, — as  by  way  of  accidents  suddenly 
throwing  them  apart,  sometimes  very  instantaneously 
and  utterly;  or,  more  commonly,  by  the  intrusion  of 
foreign  agencies,  as  poisons  or  infusorial  parasites,  in 
one  way  or  another,  consuming  or  otherwise  disqualifying 
the  fiber ;  which  may  take  but  a  few  moments,  or  it 
may  require  many  years.  These  intrusions  are,  of 
course,  in  the  lower  order  of   substance  more  easily 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  407 

made,  as  to  the  chemical  poisons  and  the  living  germs, 
from  the  facts  that  extremes  are  more  intimate y  and  the 
conservative  forces  are  less  vigorous  to  exclude.  Also, 
from  facts  referred  to,  violences  are  more  common  and 
extreme  in  lower  substances,  adjustments  of  elements 
being  less  free  and  regular. 

In  the  earlier  states,  life  is  less  secure,  though  the  or- 
ganism is  more  free  from  disturbing  agencies.  The 
feebler  self  with  its  feebler  forces,  lays  hold  less  strongly 
on  the  surrounding  material.  In  the  enlarged  self 
the  efficiency  is  increased,  the  adhesion  is  firmer,  and 
the  control  is  more  complete.  So  much  does  this 
control  increase  with  the  attainment  of  life,  that 
though  the  foreign  elements  must  be  much  more  abun- 
dant, and  the  destroying  forces  greatly  increased,  with 
sunderings  and  paralyzations  much  more  extensive,  what 
remains  is  held  with  a  force  never  so  great.  Somewhat 
Phoenix-like,  half  successful  effort  is  made  at  evoking  a 
newness  out  of  the  old,  by  the  partial  restoration  of 
sight,  hearing,  and  other  senses,  as  well  as  at  times 
a  partial  replacing  of  the  organism  in  other  respects. 

A  professional  friend  of  the  writer  has  several  times 
related  to  him  the  case  of  a  lady  of  his  acquaintance  in 
Canada  who  had  recovered  sight,  hearing,  teeth,  and  hair 
from  nearly  a  total  loss  of  these,  above  the  age  of  seventy. 

Thus,  then,  in  this  world,  life  attains  to  the  extent  of 
maintaining  a  very  sensible  competition  with  these  hos- 
tilities which  in  these  substances  are  so  specially  strong 
and  finally  succeed  wholly  in  demolishing  the  organism, 
revealing,  distinctly,  a  principle  that  under  more  favor- 


408  CONSOLATIONS   OF  SCIENCE. 

able  conditions  would  result  in  the  permanent  embodi- 
ment of  self. 

Then,  in  the  next,  where,  by  the  nature  of  the  ele- 
ments, as  seen,  such  violent  movements  as  here  take 
place,  could  have  no  occasion  and  would  be  without  oc- 
currence, and  where  substances,  by  a  more  free  and 
direct  adjustment,  would  not  drift  so  far  into  wrong  re- 
lations, producing  antagonisms,  as  here,  and  where  with 
greater  attainments,  the  pertaining  forces  of  life  would 
be  more  effective  in  their  conservative  efforts,  bodily  dis- 
solution would  have  little  visible  cause.  It  is,  to  be 
sure,  not  claimed  how  much  higher  that  order  of  sub- 
stance is  than  this,  nor  how  much  higher  is  required  for 
such  a  state  of  things ;  but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
it  lies  so  remote  as  to  be  without  a  sensuous  trace  being 
discernible  from  this  department  of  existence,  and 
could  hardly  be  so  near  as  to  involve  the  necessity  of 
any  more  death.  But  that  in  rising  time  there  should 
be  no  departures,  farther  inward,  constituting  entrances 
into  still  further  invisible  worlds  of  still  higher  relations 
of  being,  is  not  provided  against  by  this  conclusion.  On 
the  contrary,  the  line  of  facts  that  has  governed  all  con- 
clusions in  this  work,  seems  to  strongly  imply  such 
changes.  Not  that  the  endless  peopling,  in  any  num- 
bers imaginable,  on  the  same  plane  of  substance,  could 
make  any  impression  on  the  infinite  space,  and  that 
over-crowded  conditions  would  necessitate  such  depart- 
ures, but  that  such  might  be  incidental  in  the  processes 
of  endlessly  attaining.  To  be  sure,  higher  orders  of 
cubstance  might  always  occupy  the  same  space  simul- 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOKTAL.  409 

taneously  with  the  lower,  without  impinging,  while  em- 
bodiments only,  might  have  sensible  relation  with  space. 
But  all  this  I  would  have  regarded  as  problematical 
only,  and  in  no  sense  as  essential. 

OLD    AGE    ABOLISHED. 

And  still  further,  with  no  death-producing  causes  re- 
maining, manifestly  there  would  be  left  none  from 
which  decrepitude  could  result  to  the  accumulation  of 
any  measure  of  age.  On  the  contrary,  increase  of  age, 
in  a  general  way,  would  stand  for  increase  of  attain- 
ments, whereof  instead  of  more  paralysis,  wrinkles, 
and  fadedness  there  would  be  greater  perfection,  and 
more  vivacity  and  bloom.  Intelligence,  affection,  moral, 
esthetical  and  religious  senses,  all  in  their  several  forms 
enlarged,  involving  higher  qualities  and  more  ardor  in 
each,  could  only  result  in  more  commanding  graces  of 
life  and  correspondingly  more  charms  to  its  embodiment. 
And  though  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  power  of 
life  over  life  is  from  the  condition  of  the  body,  but  from 
life  only,  regardless  of  whether  there  is  a  body  about  or 
not,  in  the  event  of  a  body  existing,  perfections  of  the 
person  are  very  desirable  supplements.  There  is, 
then,  satisfaction  in  anticipating,  in  the  conditions  that 
remedy,  in  the  next  life,  the  evils  of  old  age  in  this, 
equally,  relief  from  encumbering  defects  of  body  that 
harass  so  many  of  our  beautiful  lives  here. 

PALPABLE    SURROUNDINGS. 

Prom  the  order  of  facts  we  have  followed,  a  tactile 


410  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

relation  with  that  external  existence  is  a  necessary  con- 
clusion,— to  not  alone  look  upon,  and  otherwise  pas- 
sively perceive  it,  but  to  impinge  upon  and  devise  with 
respect  to  it — to  direct  and  shape  it  to  ends.  What 
these  shapings  may  be  like,  is  not  to  be  said.  The 
very  first  essay  might  be  the  most  wide  of  the  mark. 
But  passive  forms  of  substance,  for  their  best  state  and 
results,  await  intelligent  direction.  Our  world  under 
the  guiding  hand  of  man,  expresses  beauties  that  were 
otherwise  not  to  be  expected.  Save  in  the  aspect  of 
its  vast,  unwieldy  developments,  as  mountains,  rivers, 
seas,  and  the  heavenly  expanse,  our  most  gratifying  im- 
pressions from  nature  are  those  of  its  modification  by 
art.  The  beautiful  gardens  and  parks  are  not  met  with 
in  the  wild  confusion  of  nature  in  its  spontaneous  states. 
Foliage  and  bloom,  rich  as  at  times  they  are  in  the  state 
of  undirected  nature,  do  not  there  equal  those  which  in 
their  native  regions  are  receiving  the  judicious  care  of 
man.  The  same  is  true  of  animals  under  domestication. 
Though  their  culture  is  at  times  eccentric,  and  in  a 
sense  against  nature,  from  which  they  return  at  first 
opportunity,  still,  as  impressing  the  intelligent  eye,  from 
the  state  of  culture  they  are  more  pleasing  and  helpful 
than  from  the  undirected  and  the  unrestrained  condition. 
It  is,  therefore,  hardly  to  be  doubted  that  man,  in  the 
next  state,  will  avail  himself  of  his  never  failing  supe- 
riority, for  the  larger  gratification  of  his  increasing 
desire  for  knowledge,  and  for  his  rising  tastes,  to  di- 
rect the  elements  of  that  nature  to  higher  achieve- 
ments, and  thus  minister  more  largely  to  those  wants 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOETAL.  411 

than  would  result  from  their  unaided  efforts.  It  may 
be  judged  necessary  that  he  should  thus  minister  to  his 
own  bodily  needs,  possibly  in  ways  approximating  those 
of  his  ministry  to  those  needs  in  this  world,  or  it  may 
not;  but  a  nature,  cultivated  and  wrought  into  uses 
above  where  spontaneity  would  carry  it,  would  hardly 
fail  to  be  found  where  man's  dominion  extends  over  it. 

RECOGNITIONS. 

As  to  the  ability  of  merely  recent  acquaintances  recog- 
nizing one  another  in  the  other  world,  the  fact  of  it  was 
referred  to  and  substantially  settled,  while  speaking  of 
embodiments  there.  With  continued  likeness  of  person, 
of  perceiving  powers,  and  of  judgment,  there  could  be 
no  failure  about  it.  There  could  be  little  more  difficulty 
in  recognizing  a  friend  whom,  because  of  death,  we  have 
not  seen  for  some  years,  than  whom,  by  one  of  the 
many  causes  of  separation  in  this  life,  we  have  not 
seen  for  the  same  time.  From  some  considerations,  the 
difficulty  would  not  be  as  great.  Let  it  be  that  the 
party  to  be  recognized  has  been  subjected  to  much  sick- 
ness, or  to  disfiguring  accident,  which  would  not  apply 
with  respect  to  the  next  world,  and  the  difficulty  might 
be  greater  here  than  there.  Here,  sometimes,  under 
such  circumstances,  it  fails.  In  some  cases  the  liabilities 
would  be  the  same  there.  Let  the  separation  have 
taken  place  many  years  previous  in  the  early  infancy  of 
the  party;  or  let  the  party  have  been  subjected  to  the 
influences  of  a  greatly  changed  mode  of  life  for  quite  a 
term  of  years,  the  identification  would  be  very  difficult  if 


412  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

not  in  some  instances  quite  impossible,  whether  in  this 
world,  or  in  the  next.  A  large  part  of  the  race  die  in 
tiny  infancy  an-d  in  early  youth,  before  being  is  fully 
outlined.  And  this  outlining — ^this  extension  of  the 
figure  to  the  full  enlargement,  and  the  completion  of  the 
person,  might,  in  the  coming  state,  as  here,  result  in  a 
loss  of  recognition.  But,  perhaps,  little  more  would  it 
occur  from  this  cause  than  it  would  in  a  corresponding 
time  from  the  enlargement  and  finish  of  life  itself, — 
retaining,  perhaps,  little  of  the  habits  and  manners  of 
life  in  the  previous  state,  on  which  to  fix  a  recognition. 

Such  separations,  as  pertaining  to  parents  and  chil- 
dren, though  rare,  are  now  and  then  reported  of  our 
present  world — babies  being  stolen  or  by  other  means 
taken  from  them,  not  to  be  rejoined  with  them  till  after 
many  years.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  early  settlements  of 
our  country,  such  kidnappings  are  perpetrated  by  savages, 
and  so  far  as  the  nature  of  the  child  will  allow,  it  will  be 
made  into  a  savage,  losing,  if  it  had  attained  it,  the 
mother  tongue  and  the  recollection  of  parents  and  kin- 
dred. Identification  of  such  is  necessarily  difl&cult,  if 
not  impossible,  in  this  life. 

In  cases  of  such  complete  separation,  the  evidences 
relied  on  for  identification  usually  are  permanent  marks 
on  the  person,  or  the  accents  in  speech,  or  other  con- 
genital traits.  Where  it  has  not  extended  beyond  the 
usual  means  of  recognition,  family  names,  appearances, 
habits  and  events,  with  sometimes  contemporary  wit- 
nesses, are  referred  to.  In  these  respects,  the  other 
world   manifestly   has  advantages  over   this.     To  say 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  413 

nothing  of  the  frequent  possibilities  of  the  departed 
reading  the  conditions  and  general  character  of  the 
events  incident  to  remaining  friends,  the  constant 
stream  of  arrivals  from  the  lower  coimtry  might  allow 
of  no  break  in  the  chain  of  social  evidence  from  the 
earliest  to  the  latest  comer.  Besides,  the  family  mental 
traits  and  tastes  are  usually  so  intimately  interwoven 
with  self,  as  to  long  survive  imder  the  strongest  mod- 
ifying influences.  And,  naturally,  these  would  be  by 
none  more  readily  detected  than  by  those  of  like  nature. 
In  a  higher  state,  also,  congenital  traits  would  be  more 
pronounced,  while  the  ability  to  note  them  would  be 
keener.  We  find  it,  then,  possible  to  identify  in  the 
next  world  more  reliably  than  in  this;  whatever  un- 
foreseeable facts  might  render  recognition  for  a  time 
less  clear. 

And  these,  taken  together,  namely :  that  there  is  an 
unbroken  chain  of  eye-witnesses,  extending  even  to  par- 
ties separated  and  lost  to  each  other  in  this  world,  and 
that  peculiarities  that  are  permanent,  and  consistent 
with  the  utmost  goodness  of  character,  are  there  mpra 
legible  than  here,  what  yearnings  for  recognition  may 
not  then  in  time  be  gratified  ? 

REUNIONS. 

The  question  of  reunion,  if  not  the  very  foremost  in 
i^espect  to  the  future,  with  enlightened  minds,  could 
hardly  be  less  than  second  to  existence  itself.  Few 
harder  strains  has  human  nature  borne  than  those  per- 
taining to  yearnings  for  the  departed;   possibly  little 


414  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

thinking  how  important  may  be  those  strains  of  longing 
as  helps  in  preserving  the  very  tie  of  interest  on  which 
the  earlier  coming  together  again  depends — that  there 
are  conditions  in  which  these  yearnings  are  legible  to 
some  extent  by  the  minds  of  the  departed. 

In  considering  the  matter  of  reunion,  philosophical 
inquiry  might  recall  that  physical  nature  exists  in  many 
grand  divisions, — that  there  exist  not  only  innumerable 
and  immeasurable  systems  of  worlds  that  might  be  sup- 
posed inhabited  now  or  at  some  time,  but  that  the  same 
world,  as  ours,  might  be  so  conditioned  as  to  practically 
bar  one  class  of  people  in  and  another  out ;  and  that  it 
might  be  substantially  the  same  with  the  corresponding 
material  of  the  spiritual  universe.  And  certainly  of 
divisions  there,  there  is  at  least  the  greatest  probability  ; 
but,  evidently,  not  with  restrictions  in  the  same  measures 
to  its  inhabitants  that  our  state  places  about  us,  for 
reasons  already  referred  to.  However,  supposing  differ- 
ences to  exist,  and  with  reference  to  suiting  grades  of 
spiritual  development,  the  tendency  from  the  lower  to 
the  higher  life  could  not  be  perrdanently  intercepted. 

But  though,  in  our  world,  cosmical  conditions  re-act 
upon  human  life — elevating  or  depressing  it,  and  its 
influences  have  been  so  strong  as  to,  in  the  long  years, 
have  broken  up  the  family  of  man  into  races  of  great 
differences,  yet  in  the  same  country,  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood, and  in  the  same  house,  may  be  found,  at  least 
may  be  placed  and  continued  quite  indefinitely,  the  lowest 
and  the  highest  man  of  our  planet.  Hence,  in  a  world 
or  in  a  universe  where  elements  are  more  equally  bal- 


LIFE   IN  THE   LAND   IMMORTAL.  415 

anced,  differences  of  conditions  in  localities  might  well 
not  be  of  sufficient  consequence  to  make  an  important 
difference  in  the  direction  people  should  take  from  this 
existence  to  the  next. 

Also,  differences  in  individuals,  inclusive  of  our  world, 
exist  only  in  the  measures  and  forms  of  their  attain- 
ments, which  are  as  various  as  the  race  is  numerous, 
ranging  from  the  highest  intelligence  to  the  lowest  igno- 
rance, and  from  the  most  lovely  virtues  to  the  most  ab- 
horrent vices  and  crimes.  And  for  the  universal  good, 
the  elevation  of  the  lowest,  too,  is  required;  and  the 
kind  offices  thereof  being  helpful  to  the  elevation  of  the 
higher,  the  same  higher  order  of  environment  might 
well  be  even  the  best  place  for  the  culture  and  disci- 
pline, of  whatever  character,  needful  to  be  administered ; 
there  being  no  difference  in  the  constitutional  nature 
and  ultimate  requirements  in  all  the  family  of  man. 

It  is  then  to  be  judged  that  while  the  several  casts  of 
life,  from  sameness  of  measures  and  forms  of  attain- 
ment, resulting  in  more  nearly  the  same  shades  of 
thought  and  sentiment,  would  tend  to  gravitate  toward 
communities  and  departments,  there  could  no  fixed, 
separate  states  result.  Nor  would  arrivals  and  reunions 
be  determined  by  affinities  for  such  states  alone,  but,  as 
well,  by  reasons  of  previously  established  interests.  And 
while  attachments  from  this  cause  may  not  be  perma- 
nent in  all  coming  time,  those  lives  who  have  by  any 
proper  means  become  to  each  other  objects  of  greatest 
interest,  will,  by  the  best  reasons,  be  foremost  to  re- 
unite.    Such,  by  the  facts  cited  in  the  remarks  on  rec- 


416  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

ognition,  will  not  have  been  really  separated.  To  the 
survivor,  it  would  be  a  separation  more  than  to  the  de- 
parted, who,  besides  the  more  favored  condition  for,  at 
times,  reading  impressions  derived  from  the  life  below,, 
has  intelligence  by  arrivals  ever  continuing  to  be  made,, 
while  none — certainly  not  with  equal  reliability — are 
returning  below. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  departed  are  in 
a  state  more  favorable  to  ardor  in  love,  in  interest, 
in  solicitude,  that  greater  warmth,  in  that  holier  element, 
exists  with  the  party  above  for  the  party  below,  than 
these  heavy  elements  will  allow  to  be  cherished  and  re- 
turned. It  would,  then,  be  but  in  strict  accordance  with 
the  established  facts  of  nature,  that  the  event  of  a  loved 
one  from  below  entering  among  the  scenes  of  the  next 
world,  would  be  a  theme  of  joy  in  the  circle  above,  only 
mitigated  by  the  sorrow  of  bereavement  in  the  circle 
below, — ^that  it  would  be  anticipated  by  preparations 
made  in  the  spirit  in  which  friends  make  ready  for  the 
arrival  of  loved  ones  from  abroad, — that  when  the  de- 
parture here  and  the  arrival  there  take  place,  the  first 
objects  upon  which  the  new  orbs  would  rest  would  be 
the  faces  and  forms  of  the  most  intimately  dear  ones, 
perhaps,  long  associated  with  the  dead. 

COMPANIONSHIPS. 

In  a  previous  chapter  it  was  shown  that  human  life 
is  no  exception  to  nature  in  all  the  orders  of  it  known, 
in  that  its  individuals  are  in  possession  of  a  principle  of 
mutual  adherence.     And  not  only  is  this  adherence  in 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOKTAL.  417 

aggregate,  but  it  exists  in  special  forms,  as  between  at- 
tributes and  qualities.  That  is,  human  life  being  hu- 
man life,  alone  is  cause  of  a  certain  general  attachment 
to  it  by  a  human  life — a  drawing  toward  it  as  a  mag- 
net toward  a  magnet ;  that  all  things  being  equal,  an 
artist  is  specially  drawn  toward  an  artist;  and  of 
these,  again,  by  further  specializing,  a  sculptor  is  drawn 
toward  a  sculptor,  a  painter  toward  a  painter,  a  musician 
toward  a  musician.  And  thus  might  the  illustration  be 
indefinitely  continued.  The  intelligent  have  attractions 
for  the  intelligent,  the  benevolent  for  those  of  benevo- 
lence, and  the  refined  for  those  of  refinement ;  and  so 
also,  though  this  needs  qualifying,  the  ignorant,  the  self- 
ish, and  the  coarse  and  vulgar,  each  is  drawn  to  his 
kind.  Strictly  considered,  it  does  not  admit  to  be  said 
that  the  ignorant  and  the  low  generally,  are  drawn 
together.  That  is,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  reverse  of 
intelligence,  which  is  neither  a  function  nor  a  quality 
but  merely  vacuity — ^nihility,  can  draw.  And  so  of  self- 
ishness and  coarseness,  they  denote  absences  rather 
than  entities.  That  in  such  respects  individuals  stand 
for  nothing,  is  the  truth  rather  than  that  what  so  distin- 
guishes them,  is  a  something.  Great  ignorance  is  rather 
the  name  of  a  corresponding  lack  of  intelligence,  than 
the  name  of  a  something.  So,  too,  of  "great  coarse- 
ness, "  "  great '  vulgarity  "  or  "  great  vice. "  It  is,  then, 
not  possible  that  these  conditions  in  themselves  have 
drawing  qualities ;  and  the  real  fact  in  respect  to  what 
may  seem  so,  more  likely  is  this :  That  these,  from  in- 
ability to  be  allied  with  people  of  attainment  in  these 

27 


418  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

respects,  on  account  of  the  small  interest  they  are  able 
to  supply,  are  in  a  sense  ejected  and  forced  upon  their 
kind,  to  form  communities  with  views  and  modes  of  life 
corresponding  to  those  levels.  Such  aggregates  of  com- 
mon sentiments  and  common  causes  breeding  sympathies, 
become  drawing  forces  in  themselves ;  which  constitutes 
an  explanation  of  evil  society  and  its  seeming  power 
to  attract.  But  here,  still,  intelligence  attracts  intelli- 
gence, benevolence,  benevolence,  and  virtue,  virtue. 
Deference  is  bestowed  upon  the  most  shrewd  and  cun- 
ning ;  and  he  who  is  generous  and  disposed  to  deal  fairly 
among  their  class,  is  regarded  with  distinction,  etc. 

We,  then,  here  see  the  law  of  society  crystallizations 
— of  special  friendships  and  companionships,  above  the 
general  love  and  interest  one  feels  for  his  fellows,  as 
such.  The  law  is,  also,  seen  to  be  the  result  of  princi- 
ples that  are  permanently  inseparable  from  life.  And, 
moreover,  instead  of  a  tendency  to  more  exclusiveness 
and  greater  remoteness  from  others,  it  becomes,  in  the 
wisdom  that  must  in  higher  attainments  characterize  it, 
a  most  effective  means  to  enlarge  the  love  and  interest 
for  the  general  mass ;  as  to  all  real  culture  the  enlarged 
powers  of  appreciation  render  not  only  special  friendships 
more  intimately  dear,  but  the  outside  relationships  of  life 
proportionately  rise  in  interest — are  more  nearly  ap- 
proached and  more  included.  As  when  we,  with  a 
larger  and  purer  telescope,  increase  our  means  of  seeing, 
we  come  not  only  nearer  to  the  more  immediate  planets 
of  our  own  system,  but  to  the  remoter  ones  therein,  and 
to  the  farthest  stars.     Also,  environment  can  never  be 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  419 

wholly  the  same  to  two  minds,  from  the  fact  that  they  must 
occupy  separate  standpoints,  and  that  its  features,  in 
all  times  and  places,  are  not  the  same,  nor  can  be. 
Plainly,  then,  minds  can  never  fall  into  sameness  of 
balance,  temperament,  and  taste,  but  diversity  in  these 
respects,  like  diversity  in  sounds  of  music,  will  always 
contribute  its  sweet  impressions  upon  life. 

Individuals,  then,  might,  without  special  conditions  of 
attachment — ^without  considerations  of  necessary  arbi- 
trary bonds — drift  away  upon  unlike  currents,  which, 
though  rambling  more  or  less  apart,  are  never  lost  from 
the  tide.  But,  again,  arbitrary  enactments  from  proper 
sources  of  authority,  limiting  and  directing  conduct,  are 
a  constant  necessity  to  finite  life.  We  are  always  in 
our  modem  day,  with  our  unknown  before  us,  with  our 
nature  less  perfectly  understood  by  ourselves  than  cer- 
tain others  understand  it ;  with  no  means,  but  guardian 
authority,  to  direct  us,  and  by  which  to  find  the  best 
way.  Then,  too,  error  is  ever  less  right  than  the  truth, 
and  less  to  the  purposes  of  life ;  and  to  incur  it  is  to 
incur  at  least  a  privation ;  and  to  occasion  it  to  others, 
is  their  misfortune  at  our  hands,  however  in  integrity 
committed  and  in  charity  received.  Life,  also,  is  ever, 
to  some  extent,  conditioned  by  adjacent  life.  What 
another  life  is,  and  hoiv  it  is,  is  possible  to  be  a  large 
advantage  or  disadvantage  to  it ;  which  would,  under  a 
general  state  of  rational  intelligence,  unavoidably  result 
in  enactments  of  arbitrary  dispensations  from  the  higher, 
and  finally  the  highest,  for  the  lower. 

While  conformity  to  law  of  this  character,  to  what- 


420  CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

ever  details  it  might  extend,  might  well  be  spontaneous, 
drifting  independently  after  casual  impulses,  without 
regard  to  their  mature  and  fit  condition,  and  hence  justi- 
fication, would  be  greatly  inconsistent  with  the  require- 
ments of  such  a  state  as  would  be  characterized  true 
intelligence.  Companionships,  then,  might  result  not 
alone  from  a  disposition  to  follow  social  tastes,  but  from 
the  desire  of  obedience  to  needful  regulations, — ^to  sat- 
isfy the  claims  of  sympathy  and  justice ;  the  realization 
of  which  might  often  be  as  helpful  in  the  progress  of 
self  as  would  be  the  exhilarating  companionship  of 
equals  in  attainments.  Quite  nearly  as  strong  attach- 
ments as  those  existing  between  the  more  attained  par- 
ent and  the  less  attained  child,  and  from  similar  facts  of 
life,  could  exist  between  the  more  attained  and  the  less 
attained,  as  teacher  and  pupil,  in  that  future  state. 
There  is  entertainment  of  the  highest  order  in  the  scene 
of  life  unfolding  from  its  beginnings ;  and  to  remove  the 
obstructions  would  be  correspondingly  a  work  of  pleas- 
ure, not  only  to  the  sense  of  generosity,  but  to  intelli- 
gence ;  and  this,  together  with  the  fact  that  feebleness 
is  ever  looking  toward  strength  and  rejoicing  in  its 
superiors  on  account  of  their  helpfulness,  would,  also, 
suggest  a  bond  of  companionship. 

The  sexual  element,  the  most  prominent  distinction 
?.n  human  life,  and  one  of  the  most  powerful  social 
incentives,  has  been  regarded  as  primarily  an  appoint- 
ment to  serve  the  need  of  reproduction.  This  super- 
ficial view  discovers  but  a  small  part  of  its  purpose.  It 
is  chiefly  important  as  a  nourishment  to  the  two  equal 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOBTAL.  421 

lives.  First  of  all,  it  pertains  to  mind  and  all  the  es- 
sential self,  and  next,  to  the  person.  Keciprocally,  the 
qualities  of  the  one  nature  refer  to  a  want  in  the  other, 
to  establish  a  requisite  fullness  and  completeness  of  being. 
Hence  the  distinction  could  not  be  referred  to  tempo- 
rary causes.  Social  life  is  nowhere  complete  in  the  one 
element  of  either ;  while  the  elements  in  proper  union, 
ever  result  in  a  sense  of  social  satisfaction  and  content- 
ment. But  from  the  best  results  arising  out  of  the  most 
intimate  reciprocities,  special  claims  and  concessions,  as 
to  individual  unions,  would  seem  to  be  always  required ; 
resulting  in  companionships,  which,  in  instances  of  great- 
est compatibility,  would  be  long  enduring,  and  for  aught 
that  now  appears,  might  be  eternal. 

In  respect  to  the  continuance  of  companionships  es- 
tablished in  this  life,  ordinarily,  none  would  be  more 
probable  than  those  of  the  family,  where  more  of  the  con- 
ditions of  sympathy  and  affection  are  present,  and  where 
so  many  of  the  strongest  obligations  have  been  created. 
Here  the  facts  of  life  are  so  deeply  and  intimately 
interwoven  in  all  directions,  as  that  the  several  bonds 
might  be  safely  supposed  to  be  of  long  continuance. 
The  facts  of  parent  and  child,  of  common  parentage,  of 
joined  parentage,  of  husband  and  wife,  and  of  common 
family  vicissitudes,  could  be  a  matter  of  memory,  in- 
terest, and  preference,  through  vast  measures  of  time, 
and  in  some  respects,  eternal  time. 

EDUCATION. 

That  wonderful  element  of  the  human  mind,  above 


422  ^       CONSOLATIONS  OF  SCIENCE. 

all  else,  craves  attainment, — not  alone  of  facts  and  the 
better  use  of  the  faculties  of  thought,  but  the  greater 
perfection  of  all  the  elements  pertaining  to  self.  Always 
the  most  attained,  in  respect  to  anything,  and  markedly 
so  in  .respect  to  the  attributes  of  life,  is  the  most  pleas- 
ing and  the  most  satisfying.  Hence,  the  ever  eager 
pursuit  of  what  lies  still  beyond — of  being  as  well  as 
of  facts  and  principles.  Of  all  surroundings,  too,  it  is 
desired  to  have  them  at  their  best.  The  best  animals 
of  their  kind,  the  best  plants  of  their  kind,  the  best 
minerals  of  their  kind,  the  best  achievements  of  the  arts, 
and  not  the  poorest  of  these,  are  the  most  highly  valued. 
And  ao  the  interest  of  self  calls  equally  for  the  labor  of 
improvement  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  fellow  life ;  and 
unendingly  so.  That  this  would  be  bestowed  advanta- 
geously, by  the  use  of  appropriate  devices  whereby 
larger  results  could  be  secured  than  would  accrue  by 
casual  contact,  could  not  fail  to  be  true  where  devising 
minds  are  concerned.  The  processes  could  not  fail  to 
be  of  management  by  conventional  wisdom,  and  of  the 
general  character  of  institutions.  The  tendency  in  the 
higher  attainments  of  mind  is,  without  exception,  more, 
instead  of  less,  toward  institutional  means.  Institutions 
are  one  of  the  salient  marks  that  distinguish  between 
mind  in  barbarism  and  in  civilization.  Not  only  is  pas- 
sive substance  more  commonly  wrought  into  mechan- 
isms, but  the  social  forces  are  wrought  into  rules,  laws, 
governments  to  secure  harmony,  and  efficiency  toward 
the  ends  desired. 

Nature   is   all   the   time   being  placed   more  under 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMORTAL.  423 

the  dominion  of  mind,  while,  in  its  turn,  the  mind  itself 
becomes  the  profited  subject  of  its  own  legislation.  And 
under  association  with  fellow  lives,  life  passes  into  sub- 
jection to  conventional  legislation, — ^is  directed  by  its 
provisions  and  conformed  to  its  own  institutions ;  itself 
contributing  to  their  creation  as  having  a  certain  nu- 
merical value  in  the  aggregation  out  of  which  the  ruling 
sentiment  is  derived.  As  a  rule,  by  its  adaptations,  it 
is  directed  to  one  or  a  class  of  those  institutions,  through 
which,  by  bestowing  its  labors  there,  it  contributes  its 
principal  service  to  the  world.  And  this  can  be  no  more 
true  of  rational  mind  in  one  world  than  in  another.  It 
is,  also,  necessarily  as  true  of  one  world  as  of  another, 
that  where  there  is  less  attainment,  from  the  less  desire 
of  attainment  being  coupled  with  weaker  means  for 
achieving  it,  but  little  progress,  if  any,  may  be  made 
without  the  presence  of  arbitrary  legislations  and  insti- 
tutions, from  superiors,  and  operated  by  superiors. 
Hence,  dispensations  and  commissions  from  the  higher 
states,  and,  finally,  from  the  highest,  must  always  be 
expected  to  descend  to  the  lower  states. 

From  these  considerations,  it  is  quite  plain  that  the 
labor  being  bestowed  upon  fellow  lives  in  the  next  world, 
partakes  of  the  essential  character  of  institutions  of 
learning,  analogous  to  those  great  systems  found  in  our 
better  society  here, — with  teachers,  and  classes,  and 
seasons  of  work,  of  which,  while  the  modes  are  unfore- 
seeable, the  elements  are  not  alone  of  instruction  in  the 
abstract  facts  of  being,  but,  also,  in  the  education  of 
self  into  the  ever  greater  refinement  and  strength  of 


424  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

every  sense  and  passion  pertaining  to  it.  What  in  thia 
world  we  see  achieved  in  the  most  brilliant  intelligence, 
the  most  exhilarating  virtues,  the  most  exquisite  tastes, 
and  in  the  most  ardent  affections,  are  but  little  more 
than  our  weak  beginnings  in  these,  which  suggests  to 
us,  in  part,  what  are  the  character  and  the  ends  of  the 
labors  that  await  us  in  the  world  of  our  next  existence. 

WORSHIP. 

To  have  survived  the  ordeal  of  physical  dissolution, 
alone  would  be,  to  the  average  life,  an  overwhelming  fact, 
tending  to  move  the  whole  consciousness  to  its  greatest 
depths — to  deepest  reflections  concerning  the  vastness 
and  potency  of  the  principle  that  must  underlie  such 
an  event.  It  would  hardly  fail  to  induce  an  earnest  self- 
questioning  as  to  what  this  comprehensiveness  and  good- 
ness of  design  must  be  owing,  and  to  what  embodiment 
these  and  the  power  of  their  execution  must  be  finally 
ascribed.  The  same  reflections,  to  be  sure,  are  due  from 
intelligences  capable  of  estimating  the  facts  of  the  pres- 
ent existence.  But  it  may  well  be  judged  that  to  find 
one's  self  still  living  after  the  process  of  physical  death 
has  been  fully  accomplished,  and  that  life  is  again  sur- 
rounded ^nth  provisions  suitable  for  subsistence  and  for 
enjoyment,  and  that  these  provisions  are  of  a  superior 
order,  would  very  much  aid  in  realizing  that  to  d,  Being 
of  incomprehensible  superiority  of  mind  and  affection, 
of  whatever  mode  of  existence,  such  facts  must  be  as- 
signed. One  could  not,  from  such  a  standpoint,  easily 
see  all  these  facts,  so  taken  together,  to  be  matters  of 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOKTAL.  425 

chance,  fior  indifferently  set  aside  claims  rising  to  view 
for  grateful  reverence  and  adoration,  to  be  bestowed  in 
the  direction  indicated  by  these  tokens  of  interest  and 
love. 

The  thoughts,  too,  pertaining  to  the  now  easily  dis- 
cernible fact  of  the  endless  continuance  of  this  being, 
and  of  the  adapting  of  supplies  to  its  needs,  however 
extreme  the  attainments  that  were  being  made,  could 
not  fail  to  still  further  strengthen  the  conviction  of  a 
living,  infinite  Being's  presence  and  care  in  it  all ;  while 
such  regularity  in  punctually  suiting  these  supplies  to 
its  ever  varying  wants,  as  would  be  apparent  of  the  fut- 
ure, might  make  it  strongly  seen  that  these  transpirings 
were  mainly,  if  not  wholly,  for  the  sake  of  man. 

Then,  again,  with  increased  general  attainment  must 
be  included  the  sentiment  of  religion.  And  if  the  change 
of  state  should  be  more  favorable  to  one  sentiment  of 
life  than  to  another,  it  would  by  nature  of  the  case  be 
the  religious.  With  such  increased  verifications  of  its 
claims  to  truth,  not  alone,  but  with  so  much  more  in 
the  facts  of  that  existence  well  calculated  to  immedi- 
ately arouse  and  nourish  it  into  power,  would  follow  the 
devotion  of  a  larger  part  of  life  to  its  exercises,  its  more 
extensive  presence  in  all  life's  practices  and  affairs — 
giving  more  largely  shape  and  character  to  all  the  man- 
ifold educational  and  social  relations  of  that  state. 

We  are,  of  course,  unable  to  foresee  the  modes  and 
rites  employed  in  worship  there.  These  we  must  leave 
to  be  made  acquainted  with  on  our  arrival  among  the 
next  scenes.    But  we  always  gain  assurance  and  enthu- 


426  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

siasm  from  the  consciousness  that  others  are  employed 
from  like  motives  to  the  same  end.  And  when  the  views 
and  the  objective  ends  of  worship  are  essentially  the 
same,  worship  by  one  excites  worship  in  another,  as  truly 
as  the  singing  string  excites  the  neighboring  string  to 
song.  To  a  thinker  the  presence  of  thinking  companions 
is  an  important  aid.  The  work  of  thought,  while  it  may 
require  some  measure  of  seclusion,  goes  on  less  efficiently 
without  the  consciousness  of  similar  employment  being 
engaged  in  by  neighboring  minds.  Hence,  thinkers  are 
attracted  to  thinkers, — not  alone  to  share  the  results  of 
their  labors,  but  by  near  proximity  with  them  to  have 
better  results  of  their  own  minds.  Human  effort  in  no 
respect  rises  to  its  best  when  conscious  of  being  wholly 
alone.  One  may  be  delighted  and  benefited  greatly  by 
pondering  or  mentally  rehearsing  a  song — an  oratorio — 
but  only  in  hearing  it  rendered  by  a  multitude  of  sing- 
ers, does  his  musical  mind  come  to  a  full  waking  in 
respect  to  it. 

Then,  too,  in  the  seclusion  of  his  thought,  though 
one  may  pay  very  great  and  gratifying  honors  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  and  in  that  communion  realize  a  very 
important  aid  to  all  his  superior  nature,  the  profounder 
sentiments  of  adoration  and  praise  await  the  re-enforc- 
ing influence  of  the  worshiping  multitude — the  assembly 
of  worshipers  in  concert. 

From  this  it  would  appear  necessary  that  as  in  educa- 
tion, worship,  too,  in  the  respect  in  which  it  is  a  matter 
of  mutual  interest  and  for  its  best  results  depends  upon 
mutual  help,  becomes,  in  the  next  world,  the  care  of  arbi- 


LIFE  IN  THE  LAND  IMMOKTAL.  427 

trary  law — of  social  legislation,  emanating  mainly  or 
wholly  from  the  more  attained,  who  are  ever  more  fully 
directed  by  the  Divine  Wisdom  itself. 

With  the  Deity  omnipresent  there  as  here,  and  as 
completely  beyond  all  sensuous  observation,  no  special 
great  local  altar  upon  which  general  attention  would  be 
directed,  would  be  called  for  or  practicable.  But  in  its 
place  might  be  seen  the  one  common,  essential  faith, 
hope,  and  communion,  upon  the  one  vast  altar  of  the 
outspread  celestial  universe. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Concluding  Eeflections  and  Parting  Words. 

HAVING  now,  substantially,  completed  the  task  un- 
dertaken in  this  work,  I  here  submit  a  few  part- 
ing words  on  taking  leave  of  the  reader.  In  the 
results  of  the  investigations  pursued  in  these  chapters, 
it  is  not  only  ascertained  that  the  individual  human 
life  is  of  endless  continuance,  but  the  coming  state  is 
foreseen  to  possess  advantages  and  measures  of  hap- 
piness not  found  in  this  world,  and  that,  all  things 
considered,  so  far  as  human  judgment  can  discover, 
entrance  upon  that  state  is  a  beneficent  promotion. 
With  that  greatest  of  apostles,  all  may  say,  "  To  die 
is  gain."  Greater  or  total  immunity  from  impurity 
of  passions — from  sinfulness  or  desire  for  unholy 
and  rebellious  life,  seems  a  necessary  good  fortune  of 
life  in  that  world.  That  is,  when  taken  in  comparison 
with  life  in  this  world,  the  disparity  in  favor  of  that 
world  would  be  thus  great.  Further  than  that,  nothing 
we  have  discovered  would  justify  a  fixed  conclusion. 
What  alloys  of  that  state  might  be  objectionable  to  a 
state  or  to  states  yet  further  on  than  the  one  of  our 
common  immediate  inheritance,  is  not  brought  into  the 
discussion. 

428 


CONCLUDING    REFLECTIONS.  429 

And  yet  not  all  could  be  paradise  with  all  souls  even 
in  that  fair  world.  There  are  foreseeable  conditions 
in  which  many  would  partake,  that  might  average  far 
more  sorrow  and  pain  than  happiness,  perhaps  for  the 
long  time  coming.  When  in  drunkenness — in  the  dark- 
ness of  life  occasioned  from  it — one  inflicts  an  injury 
on  another,  getting  sober  does  not  make  him  a  happier 
man.  To  reflect  that  he  did  it  when,  in  the  drunken 
paroxysms,  he  was  beyond  the  command  of  himself,  while 
it  may  under  some  circumstances  cause  some  mitigation 
of  pains,  may,  also,  under  others,  render  them  even 
more  intense.  To  have  proved  faithless  in  the  proper 
charge  over  himself,  still  further  injury  is  to  be  reck- 
oned to  his  account,  from  the  pain  of  which  getting 
sober  does  not  relieve  him.  So,  likewise,  to  one  having 
lived  a  life  of  injury — of  sinning  against  man  and  God, 
entering  upon  a  state  of  greater  sensitiveness  in  respect 
to  right  and  wrong,  would  not  be  the  occasion  of  his 
happiness.  Atonement  by  reparation,  would  seem  to  be 
the  only  way  to  relief.  Full  forgiveness,  even  by  such  in 
that  world  as  would  be  immediate  sufferers  from  those  in- 
juries, and  forgiveness  by  the  greatest  in  holiness, without 
an  ordinance  reversing,  in  this  respect,  the  system  of  nat- 
ure, could  not  avail  to  quench  the  burning  pains  so  long  as 
the  consequences  of  the  wrong  were  matters  of  distress. 
But,  also,  in  a  world  freed  from  malice  and  given  to  uni- 
versal friendship  and  affectionate  help,  and  where  the 
evidences  of  final  release  from  all  wrong  conditions  and 
evil  effects,  however  long  deferred,  are  so  unmistakable 
none  could  be  allowed  to  be  the  subject   of    unmixed 


430  CONSOLATIONS    OF    SCIENCE. 

suffering,  and  wholly  without  happifying  impressions. 

Among  the  pleasing  considerations,  already  referred 
to,  that  would  create  longings  for  that  world,  are  the  re- 
unions we  are  justified  in  expecting  with  those  of 
special  friendship  and  interest.  These  may  not  be  the  high- 
est interest  in  heaven  to  be  sometime  attained  to  there,  but 
to  the  people  now  living  below,  their  dear  and  intimately 
related  friends  are  the  main  attractions  there,  so  long 
as  its  other  excellencies  are  so  little  understood  and  ap- 
preciated. Many,  too,  must  be  the  glad  occasions  in 
that  many  mansioned  Father's  home — that  land  af 
many  home  circles — constellations  of  spiritual  happi- 
ness— to  which  Jesus  so  soothingly  referred  in  his  last 
hours  of  earth.  Friends  are  being  given  back  to  friends ; 
family  members  are  being  rejoined ;  mothers  are  having 
their  babes  replaced  upon  their  bosoms ;  all  with  the  cir- 
cumstances and  demonstrations  of  wild  delight,  praises 
and  thanksgivings  to  God,  such  as  are  unknown  in  all 
below  heaven.  And  from  this  cannot  be  separated  the 
special  familiar  intercourse  and  rehearsals  of  the  past, 
following  on  in  due  time ;  as  when  friends  of  special  in- 
timacy long  separated  meet  again.  It  might  be  forgot- 
ten for  the  time  that  it  really  is  the  holy  country  spoken 
of,  and  seem  to  be  the  same  old  earth  in  a  new  dress  and 
under  a  new  sky. 

Again,  in  the  generally  intensified  life  and  increased 
activity  of  functions,  will  be  the  increased  efliciency  of 
the  memory,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  cases 
of  hypnotism,  a  state  somewhat  partaking  of  the  nature 
of  death,  and  as  is  frequently  reported  in  cases  of  par- 


CONCLUDING    EEFLECTIONS.  431 

tial  drowning.  We  also  more  commonly  remember  the 
right  and  appropriate  experiences  than  the  inappropri- 
ate. And  among  the  things  of  interest  in  the  life  to 
come,  it  is  probable  that  by  a  more  clear  mental  recur- 
rence, we  shall  be  able  to  live  over  again  the  better  and 
more  agreeable  part  of  our  history — of  our  childhood, 
our  youth,  with  every  succeeding  state  of  our  advancing 
age,  with  their  many  dear  associations.  I  say  the  better 
part,  from  the  fact  that  the  imperfect  is  the  unadapted 
and  finally  rejected  part.  All  growths  are  characterized 
by  a  conservative  law,  by  which  imperfections  are  caused 
to  disappear,  while  that  which  is  in  harmony  with  the 
being's  ends,  assimilates  and  becomes  identified  with  the 
being  itself.  So  that  the  first  that  we  would  forget 
permanently  would  be  the  things  that  we  would  least 
care  to  remember.  Then  the  right  things — the  har- 
monies— of  our  past  lives,  and  not  alone  ours,  but  those 
of  others,  might  often  be  food  for  happy  contemplation 
there,  and  finally  without  the  disturbing  sensations  of 
the  evil  parts  therewith. 

CONTEMPLATIONS    OF   DEATH. 

As  to  death,  whatever  are  seen  to  be  the  facts  of  the 
future,  to  many  people  it  is  associated  with  a  sense  of 
alarm  and  even  terror ;  not  from  regrets  as  to  parting 
with  friends  and  cherished  surroundings,  the  ordeal  on 
its  own  account  is  looked  upon  with  a  suspicion  of  some- 
thing dreadful.  In  part  it  may  be  owing  to  its  so  strongly 
seeming  to  be  the  final  ending  of  all,  and,  also,  in  part  from 
its  not  having  been  personally  experienced.    From  what- 


432  CONSOLATIONS  OF   SCIENCE. 

ever  cause  the  sense  is  wholly  illusory.  Often  persons  must 
have  felt  all  that  one  feels  in  dying  and  have  afterward 
fully  recovered.  If  complete  death  of  the  entire  organism 
has  not  been  experienced  by  any  one  now  living  in  this 
world,  many  have  undergone  complete  death  of  a  con- 
siderable part  thereof,  in  which  all  was  illustrated. 
Amputations,  woundings,  convulsions — those  terrifying 
spectacles — are  not  death,  but  only  illustrations  of  dis- 
ordered states  of  life,  from  which,  indeed,  death  may  be 
the  result.  Death  follows  after  the  vital  forces  have 
failed  to  maintain  the  organism.  Their  withdrawing  is 
dying,  denoted  by  a  growing  insensibility,  and  is  real- 
ized as  rest.  Instead  of  being  a  matter  of  pain,  "(ieath 
is  a  retiring  from  pain.  Whoever  has  relaxed  from  se- 
vere exertion  into  profound  sleep  may  be  said  to  have 
undergone  all  the  realizations  of  the  dying.  In  cases  of 
complete  paralysis  where  all  sensuous  relation  is  dis- 
continued, death  is  essentially  illustrated.  There  are  no 
intelligent  reasons  why  death  itself  should  be  a  subject 
of  dread.  To  many  heavily  burdened  lives,  it  might 
well  be  regarded  as  the  pilgrim,  wearied  and  bruised  by 
the  long  fatiguing  day,  at  nightfall  regards  the  spread 
couch  inviting  him  to  rest.  What  pertains  to  life  this 
side  and  the  other  side,  could  be  to  the  informed  the 
only  matters  to  influence  the  choice  as  to  dying.  The 
indifferent  to  the  requirements  of  duty — the  laden  with 
guilt,  could  not  wish  it, — ^would  crave  to  first  reform 
and  make  restitution.  The  good,  conscious  of  having 
outlived  all  requirements  of  further  service  to  the  liv- 


CONCLUDING    EEFLECTIONS.  433 

ing,  might  well  contemplate  the  event  as  one  of  signal 
blessing. 

But  that  these  facts,  taken  purely  on  their  own  merits 
in  arriving  at  these  conclusions,  may  accomplish  the  pur- 
pose intended  in  these  labors,  attention  is  recalled  to 
the  fact,  which  the  good  thinker  will  recognize  as  emi- 
nently just,  that  understanding  them  as  true,  and  stead- 
fastly believing  in  them — confiding  in  them,  may  not  in 
all  cases  be  the  same  thing.  The  truth  would  seem  to 
be  all  that  one  could  need.  But  this,  after  all,  is  not 
enough.  The  confiding  power  must  be  present  before 
the  truth  can  have  its  proper  influence  on  the  sentiments 
of  life.  The  writer  had  an  intimate  friend  of  much 
more  than  ordinary  accomplishment,  and  of  special 
good  judgment  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  exact 
sciences,  who  was,  time  after  time,  having  what  were  to 
him  very  clear  evidences  of  spirit  intercourse.  For  the 
hour,  nothing  could  be  more  satisfactory  than  those 
demonstrations.  And  yet  this  realization  was  at  each 
time  doomed  to  soon  vanish  away,  leaving  doubt  as 
overmastering  as  before.  Now  though  these  evidences 
might  not  have  been  genuine,  it  was  not  because  he  had 
discovered  any  flaw  in  them  that  he  so  soon  became 
doubting  again,  but  there  was  a  lack  in  the  confiding 
power.  What,  therefore,  this  man  needed  was  not  more 
proof,  having  failed  to  dispose  of  what  he  had,  but  more 
strength  in  the  believing  department  of  his  being, — 
especially  in  respect  to  the  spiritual  aspect  of  nature. 

It  is  true  that  people  sometimes  have  this  too  large 

28 


434  CONSOLATIONS   OF   SCIENCE. 

or  too  little  qualified,  and  believe  too  soon  and  too  mucL 
— without  adequate  inspection.  But  quite  as  often  in 
our  day  the  reverse  exists ;  and  people  by  doubting  too 
much  are  liable  to  fail  in  receiving  the  benefits  of  truths 
that  are  mentally  clear  and  well  established.  This  is 
most  liable  to  be  the  case  in  respect  to  truths  of  unusual 
import.  Much  of  the  evil  arises  from  the  acquired 
habit  of  negativing  too  promptly.  Hence,  too,  the  rem- 
edy is,  in  a  large  part,  to  be  found  in  a  change  of  this 
habit.  Also,  conforming  to  the  habits  of  life  main- 
tained by  people  of  more  robust  powers  of  belief,  is  of 
essential  aid  in  strengthening  this  important  element  of 
rational  being.  Following  submissively  the  mode  of 
thought  and  of  life  known  of  those  greatest  minds  and 
lives  recorded  in  human  history,  as  already  referred  to, 
Jesus  and  the  apostles,  this  believing  quality  of  mind 
could  hardly  fail  to  speedily  enlarge  into  ample  fullness 
for  a  just  realization  of  this  class  of  facts. 

The  facts  of  music,  of  mathematics,  or  of  language 
will  be  apprehended  with  more  difficulty  by  natures  less 
adapted  to  these  principles  of  being ;  and  why  not  so  of 
all  other  elements  of  knowledge  ?  Then  to  yearn  after 
evidences  of  the  departed  wisely,  would,  in  most  in- 
stances, require  some  of  the  self-discipline  which  would 
render  the  self-nature  more  available  for  the  evidence ; 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  which  universally  apply  to 
the  acquisition  of  practical  knowledge  in  any  department 
of  being. 

But  it  is  now  become  a  matter  of  sincere  congratula- 
tion that  by  due  attention  to  the  force  of  the  facts  of 


CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS.         435 

science  as  they  are  commonly  received  in  this  age  of  the 
world,  the  ordinary  deficiencies  in  powers  for  discerning 
facts  of  a  spiritual  character,  may  be  overcome  by  sup^ 
plying  proof  from  this  source ;  proof  of  a  future  world 
not  only,  but  of  life's  endlessness, — of  that  world's  bet- 
ter adaptation  to  the  higher  wants  of  man,  and  of  his 
endlessly  attaining  in  that  state.  To  essentially  the 
same  facts  of  a  future  world  to  which  Christian 
teachings  have  for  these  centuries  pointed  the  be- 
reaved for  comfort,  the  science  of  to-day  coming  forward, 
directs  the  suffering  heart  of  man  for  consolation.  It 
has  raised  man  to  an  eminence  of  knowledge  concerning 
the  principles  of  being,  from  which  the  chasm  of  mor- 
tality is  seen  bridged  and  the  passage  of  the  dear  ones 
to  the  common  country  and  home  beyond,  safely  accom- 
plished ;  in  seeing  which,  the  paining  mind  drinks  in 
the  sweet  relief. 

In  reverting  to  the  deep  past,  at  times  one  gets  the 
living  mass  of  those  ages  vividly  on  the  field  of  his 
vision,  and  asks  where  are  they  now?  One  who  is  in 
love  with  the  literature  of  the  past,  and  has  become  in» 
timate  with  the  great  lives  whose  benefits  to  mankind 
cease  not  descending  to  the  generations  rising  along  th^ 
course  of  time,  asks  with  insuppressible  solicitude, 
What  has  become  of  those  great  and  precious  energies— 
those  vast  mental  and  moral  substances  that  for  a  brie, 
time  animated  visible  forms,  then  utterly  disappeared, 
from  view  ?  Science  has  substantially  discovered  ^miy 
and  the  world  of  their  permanent  abode. 


INDEX. 

PAOB. 

ABEECEOMBIE,  DK.— Important  legal  decision  evolved 
in  a  dream 246 

Age,  Old,  Abolished 409 

AiiGER,  Kev.  Mb.— Doctrine  of  the  Greeks,  concerning  the 

soul.' 48 

Animal — Being  thereof  inhering  in  animal  ether 127-131 

Animal — Element   thereof   contrasted    with  that  of   the 

vegetable 131 

Animal — Lower  forms  less  strong  and  differentiated  and 

more  easily  confounded  with  the  vegetable 242 

Animal — Wonderful  Anatomic  machinery  thereof 136,  137 

Animals — Under  man,  probably  not  immortal 272,  373 

Aphasia 333,  334 

Aristotle 47 

Athanasian  Creed 216 

Atoms— They  touch  only  by  their  atmospheres 297 

BAAL 43 
Baboons — Cited  by  Dr.  Darwin  as  examples  of  the 

presence  of  sympathy  in  brutes 174 

Baboons — Depredations  of,  cited  by  Brehm 174,  175 

Bain,  Pbof.— Double-faced  unity  theory  of  matter 210-213 

Baird,  Mr. — His  hypnotic  subject  sings  with  Jenny  Lind . .     260 

Beale,  Dr.  Lionel  S.— On  nerve  circuits 230,  231 

Bigotry— Not  limited  to  a  class 83 

Blumenbach,  Dr.— Experiments  on  brain  action 253 

BoiLEAu,  Lieutenant. — Witnesses  self-mesmerization 

in  India 308,  309 

Brain— As  an  instrument  comparatively  simple 238 

Brain— State  of  dm-ing  sleep 257 

Brain — The  umbilical  tie  of  self  with  the  external  world .    265 

Brehm— On  the  moral  sense  in  birds 170 

Butler,  Bp.— Assailed  by  Prof.  Tyndall 196-200 

437 


438  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

CAKPENTER,  PROF.— Acted  dreams 247 
Carpenter,  Prof. — Cited  by  Prof.  Youmans  on  the 

employment  of  the  mineral  by  the  vital  forces.  11 9, 120 

Carpenter,  Prof. — 2^ote  on  natural  selection 90 

Carpenter,  Prof. — On  faith  in  a  future  life 192 

Carpenter,  Prof. — Views  on  Mesmerism 301 

Catalepsy— A  peculiar  case  of  a  young  lady  in  Newark,  N.  J.  241 

Christians— Apostolic  and  modern  compared 69 

Christison,  Sir  Rob't.— Paralyzation  of  the  will  faculty. .  332 

Church,  The— An  important  want  of 34 

CiiOQUET,  M. — Surgery  performed  under  mesmerism 306 

Consciousness — What  is  meant  by  a  state  of  consciousness.  195 

Creation,  SPECiAii— Difficult  to  set  aside 225- 

DANA,  PROF.— Definition  of  the  term  "mineral", .  .108, 109 
Darwin,  Dr. — Authority  on  Darwinism 166 

Darwin,    Dr. — Theory    of    the    human  intellect    having 
ascended  from  the  instinct, "well  developed,"  in  lower 

Animals 176 

Death— Abolished,  etc 406,  407 

Death — How  generally  contemplated 431 

Death- The  conditions  which  may  effect  a  choice  in  respect 

to  it 432 

Democritus 207 

Dendy,  Dr. — Experiments  on  brain  activity 253 

Distance — As  applied  to  difference  in  measures  of  psychi- 
cal capacities , 96,  97 

Dreams  and  Somnambulisms 242-252 

Dreams — Observations  on 247,  248 

Dreams — Serial,  etc 250,  251 

Duration— Means  of  determining  it  of  individual  exist- 
ences  267-270 

Durham,  Mr.— Experiments  by  chloroform  on  the  brain. .     256 

Duty — A  distinct  sense 163,  164 

Duty — Its  relation  with  the  moral  sense 162 

EDUCATION— In  the  spirit  world 421-424 
Elephant— His  sagacity,  etc 149-151 

Engine,  the  steam— In  illustration  of  the  reciprocal  rela- 
tion of  body  and  mind 205,  206 

Environment— Of  life  in  the  spirit  world,  and  the  results  393-397 

Epidendrum—  Its  subsistence  from  the  atmosphere,  etc 122 

Eras  of  Special  Attainment 42 


INDEX.  439 

PAOE. 

ESDAILE,  Dr. — His  experiments  in  mesmerism  in  India.  30G- 308 
EsQUiROii,  Dr. — Reports  cases  of  insanity  with  homicidal 

promptings 327,  328 

Ether,  vegetable— Possible  in  the  spiritual  state 11 6-119 

Ether,  vegetable— Universally 116 

Expectant  Attention—  Case  of  the  Jansenist  Girl  and  the 

Holy  Thorn 356 

Expectant  Attention— Its  bruise   of   an   ankle   and   of 

fingers 345,  346 

Expectant  Attention—  Sir  Humphrey  Davy's  experiments 

in,  with  the  paralytic 355 

Expectant  Attention Utilized  in  mental  intercourse . .    300 

FERRIER,   DR 235 

Figuier,  Prof 235 

Forces— Their  universal  presence   and  embodiment  by 

substance 100 

Fritch,  Dr  235 

GENERATION,  SPONTANEOUS— Not  admissible,  etc.111-116 
Gray,  Prof. — Judges  that  the  vegetable  and  animal 

kingdoms  may  unite  in  a  loop  below 143 

HAECKEL,  PROF .  —His  piotogenes,  etc 221 
Hallucinations— Of  Herr  Von  Baczko  by  the  spec- 
tral negro 374 

Hallucinations  Of— Mrs.  D.  and  her  sister,  related  by  R. 

Dale  Owen 375-377 

Hallucinations     Of— The    crew    concerning    the    de- 
ceased cook 379 

Hallucinations     Of— The    Londoners   concerning  the 

Chimpanzee 379 

Hallucination  Of — The  regiment  concerning  the  spec- 
tral dog ...  380-382 

Hallcination  Of— Robert  Dale  Owen,  concerning  "  Katie 

King" 384-387 

Hamilton,  Prof.— Case  of  speaking  unknown  languages 

during  fever  delirium 262,  363 

Hamilton,  Prof.— Respecting  dreams 249 

Hammond,  Dr. — Account  of  the  French  speaking  epileptic    261 

Hammond,  Dr.— Experiment  on  brain  in  the  lower  ani- 
mals  253-256 

Hammond,  Dr. — Suggests  an  explanation 247 


440  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Happiness— The  state  and  conditions  of,    in  the  spirit 

world 428-431 

Haerison,  Feedeeic 191 

Haven,  Pbof.— The  somnambulic  painting  girl,  etc 245 

HiTziG,  Mr 235 

Homer 47 

.Huxley,  Prof.— Kespect  for  the  sentiment  of  faith  in  a 

future  life 191 

ICHNEUMONID^ 278 
Immoetalitt — As  taught  among  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, Chaldeans  and  Hebrews 43-45 

Immortality — Comparative  value  of  the  several  ancient 

theories 46 

Immortality. — Imperfectly  stated  prior  to  Christianity. . .       40 

Immortality— Man's  proper,  affirmed  from  the  organic 

law  of  his  being 267 

Immortality— Eight  view  of,  an  important  need  of  the 

age 25-38 

Inspiration— Law  of 311-316 

Inspiration— Peoples  unequally  available  for  its  condi- 
tions  315,  320-324 

Instinct  and  Eeason— The  distinction 146-154 

Intercourse — Importance  of  it  between  the  two  worlds 

not  always  as  great  as  supposed 339-340 

Intercourse,  Mental— Mode  of,  and  difficulties  attend- 
ing  293-319 

Intercourse— More  difficult  between  the  two  worlds.  .337-338 

Intercourse— Necessity  of,  between   worlds   greater  in 

early  times 372,  387 

Intercourse- Special  device  for  procuring  intercourse 
with  the  spirit  world  ^attended  with  danger  to  mind 
and  morals 364,  365 

Intercourse,  Spirit— As  found  in  the  Bible 389,  391 

JACKSON,  DR.  HUGHLINGS— Examination  of  the  retina 
of  the  eye  during  sleep,  etc    . .     256,  257 

Jesus— His  allusions  to  the  future  life 56,  57,  65 

Jesus — His  Gospel 35 

Jesus — His  re-appearance  after  death 66 

KNOCK 357 
Knowledge 134,  135 


INDEX.  441 

PAGE. 

LAVALETTE — His  rapid  mental  movement  in  a  dream  in 
prison 258,  259 

liEPIDOPTEBA 280 

LiEFDE,  Eev.  John   de — Cites   a  mathematical  triumph 

wrought  in  sleep 244 

Life  in  the  Spirit  World 392 

Life— Origin  of  individual  life 271 

LiND,  Jenny— Sings  with  the  hypnotized  singing  girl 260 

Lobster— Its  low  order  permits  the  renewal  of  lost  parts. .    401 

Lourdes 357 

Lucretius— His  philosophy  referred  to 196-198-200 

Lucretius— Terrified  by  insane  promptings  to  lewdness, 

commits  suicide 328,  329 


MAN— His  continuance  beyond  death 188 
Martineau,  Miss  H.— Cites  the  case  of  a  congenital 

idiot 243 

MAUDSiiET,  Dr.— Statements  concerning  moral  insanity  329, 330 

Maudsley,  Dr. — New  brain  routes  used  by  mind 335 

Mesmerism— Example  by  Dr.  Noble 302 

Mesmerism— Orientals  more  available  for 305 

Mesmerism— Self ,  by  Indian  Fakirs 308,  309 

Metampsychosis 43-47-49 

MrLiiER,  Hugh— Observations  on  the  flora  of  coal  period  125, 126 

Mimosa— Its  sensitiveness 129 

Mind— And  body 193 

Mind — And  organism 207 

Mind— Forms  its  conceptions  independently  of  brain 239 

Mind— In  the  processes  ot  insanity 324-334 

Mind — Rapid  movement  of,  in  dreams 258 

Mind — Soul  and  Spirit  are  substances,  etc 144 

Mind — The  only  element  seizing  upon  and  utilizing  the 

aspects  of  nature 134 

Mineral,  The— Organized  by  the  vegetable 109,  110 

Mineralism 208 

Mineralistic— School  unsatisfied 227 

MiNERALiSTic— Theories  of  life 218 

MrvART,  Prof. — Cited  in  mimicry  in  nature 142 

Moral  Element,  The— And  the  brute 165,  166 

Moral  Element,  The — A  separate  sense 160 

Moral  Element,  The— Defined 164,  165 

Moral  Element,  The— State  of 159 


442  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

NERVES— Mode  of  their  device  232 
Nerves— Origin  of— Theory  by  Mr.  H.  Spencer..225,  226 

Neuropteka 282 

Newton,  Sib  Isaac— As  an  example  of  realizing  powers. . .       99 
Noble — His  experiments  in  mesmerism 302,  303 

OLD  AGE  ABOLISHED 409 
Orientals- More  available  for  mesmeric  phenomena    305 
Owen,  Bob't  D. — Cites  the  two  sisters'  impression  of  the 

spectral  boy 375-377 

Owen,  Rob't  D.— His  relation  in  the  "Katie  King" affair. 384-387 
Oxygen — Its  discovery  and  prevalence 100 

PAUL,  ST.— His  view  of  the  future  life 53 
Piano  and  Operator— Illustrating  the  brain  operated 

by  the  Self 236,  237 

PiNEL,  Dr.— Reports  an  instance  of  insanity  with  prompt- 
ings to  suicide 326 

Plant,  The— Its  modification  by  environment 114,  116 

Plant,  The — Its  possible  presence  in  the  spiritual  state.  122-1 24 

Plant,  The— Not  a  mineral  development Ill 

Plant,  The — The  most  favored  always  attains  to  fruit 288 

Plato — His  supposed  sympathies  with  metempsychosis. . .       50 

Prescience— Evidence  of 278 

Priestly — His  discovery  of  Oxygen 100 

Protoplasm— Present  in  all  vital  forms 113 

Protoplasm— The  term  not  of  uniform  meaning. 293 

REALIZATION — Not  generally  strong  concerning  the 
spirit  world,  and  why 361,  362 

Realizing  Powers— Importance  of 72-73 

Realizing  Powers — Development  of 79 

Reason — In  lower  animals  not  positively  disclaimed 156 

Recognitions  in  the  spirit  world 411-413 

Reunions  in  the  spirit  world 413-416 

Rome— Church  of 53 

SCIENCE— Tendency  of,  to  confirm  immortality 82-85 
Self — Characterized  by  drawing  forces  in  reciprocity 

with  selves 299 

Self — The  physical  senses  lodge  only  on  its  environment. .     295 
Self — The  realization  thereof  does  not  include  the  phys- 
ical organism 229 


INDEX.  443 

PAGV' 

Senses,  The— Delusion  of 80 

Senses,  The — Bequire  supplementing  by  mind 81 

Sentience — The  reasoning  form  requires  successive  en- 
largement of  powers 275-277 

Socrates 52 

Spectkoscope,  The 298 

Spencer,  Herbert— Definition  of  life 218-220 

Spencer,  Hebert — He  abandons,  temporarily,  his  theory 

of  development  by  environment 225 

Spencer,  Herbert— Theory  of  psychological  units 221-222 

Spirit  World,  The— Location  of 92,  93,  102-107 

Spirits,  Evil— No  evidence  that  departed  mortals  are 

such 387,  388 

Stansbury,  Capt. — Feeding  of   the  blind  pelican  by  its 

mates 170 

Stigmatization— Case  of  Louise  Lateau 349,  350 

Substance  and  Matter — The  terms  how  used 144 

Substance,  Mineral — Its  ulterior  oneness 106 

Substance— Origin  of  special  forms  of 106 

Substances— They  do  not  impinge  when  their  properties 

are  unlike 93,  94 

Substances — When  of  the  same  properties  they  are  mu- 
tually impenetrable — must  be  separate  in  space 95 

Substances— Universally  present  and  resolvable  into  their 

insensuous  states 100,  102 

Swindon,  Prof.  Von— A  mathematical   achievement  in 

sleep 245 

Sympathy— Definition  of 172 

Sympathy— The  brute  claimed  to  possess  it . . , , 173, 174 


TEMPOKAL  AID 31,  33 
Tendency— The  law  of,  is  evidence: of  destiny.  ..289,  291 

Theodicy— Its  conditions 23 

TUKE,  Dr.— An  instance  of  expectant  attention ! 345 

Tyndall,  Prof.— Matter,  essence  of  life 209,  210 

Tyndall,  Prof.— On  the  value  of  the  realizing  powers. .  .98,  99 

Tyndall,  Prof.— The  Belfast  address 204 

Tyndall,  Prof.— Unable  to  follow  the  translation  of  light 

into  consciousness 88,|89 

UNITS— Mr.  Spencer's  of  physiological  units 221,  223 
Units— The  theory  hopelessly  involved 223,  224 


/ 


444  INDEX. 

page; 
T  7B0CERATA 278 

WADE,  SIR  CLAUDE  H.^He  witnesses  the  burial  of 
the  Fakir  in  India 306,  308 

WiNCHELii,  Prof. — Destined  familiarity  with  the  spirit 

world 91 

World,  Spirit— Superior  conditions  of 402,  403 

Worship— How  characterized  in  the  Spirit  World 424,  427 

YOTJMANS,  PROF.— Tendency  of   science  toward  the 
spiritual , 86.  88 


I 


ALSO  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 

PROPHECY   AND    PROPHETS; 

OE 

The  Laws  of  Inspiration  and  their  Phenomena. 


E>R.ioEi.  ^1,00. 


This  small  work  thoronehly  discusses  the  subject 
of  Prescience,  Prediction  and  Inspiration,  from  the 
standpoint  of  science,  and  is  of  special  value  in  the 
presence  of  modem  agnosticism  and  materialistic 
unbelief. 

From  the  table  of  contents  the  following  are  a 
few  selections : 

Prophecy,  a  Legitimate  Sutiject  for  Science. 

The  Argument  for  Prophecy.— The  Preliminary  Conditions 
Stated. 

Ppesclencing  the  Phenomena  of  the  Future.— Knowiedge  of 
Future  Events.— Prophecy  the  Communication  of  the 
Ends  Rather  than  the  Means  of  Discovery.— How  Com- 
municated' 

Correspondence  between  Extremes  of  Mind.— Mode  of  the 
Higher  with  the  Lower. 

Intuition  and  Inspiration— Their  Relation. 

Some  Reasons  why  Prophetic  Events  are  so  rarely  Met  with 
in  Profane  History. 

Principles  to  be  Observed  in  Determining  Prophetic  Events. 

Prophecy  in  Profane  History. 

The  Phenomena  in  Sacred  History. 

History  a  Science.— Fossil  Literature.— Ontological  Outlook. 


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